What is bad luck and how to deal with it? - This question should now be asked by Sweden's Ambassador to Belarus Christina Johannesson. In the protest September of 2020, two Belarusian protesters literally fell on her head - the father and son Kuznechiks. For two years they had to be accommodated, and at the end of her diplomatic term in our country, the ambassador got into what can safely be called a diplomatic scandal. But first things first in Ekaterina Tikhomirova’s section.
The story of the "incredible" escape
The story of this incredible escape began with one of the 10 Egyptian plagues: the invasion of “grasshoppers” (that is how the surname Kuznechik is translated from Russian) through the fence of the Swedish embassy. This non-biblical story originates in September 2020, when on one of the summer days, two grasshoppers (and this is not an allegory from the science of insects), a son and a father Kuznechiks, got into mischief in Vitebsk during an illegal protest: they resisted the police, and rushed to Minsk, not to the embassy of Poland or some other country, but fell on the head of the Swedes. They hid under the stairs, from where the Swedes tried to smoke them out, but to no avail.
Vladislav Kuznechik:
We asked for asylum right away. We were immediately told - No. That is, they say: get out. As soon as we got there: "Come out, we can't help you."
Diplomats turned out to be not very happy with Belarusian pets, you understand, it’s not nice to have kittens - they occupy these places and eat more. In addition, there is a precedent: leave these grasshoppers, and expect tomorrow an incredible invasion of locusts through the fence - so it turns out you can: you jumped and you are already half a step in Sweden. So, like it or not, the Kuznechiks were left, but taken into the basement.
Vitaly Kuznechik: I would describe it as jail time.
Of course, it is difficult to suspect the representatives of the embassy in humanity. Living in the basement of the embassy for almost 2 years. By comparison, Assange had his own small apartment in the Ecuadorian embassy with a shower and a treadmill. Sometimes he went out on the balcony to talk to the press. It is true that there was a 24-hour surveillance by British security officers under the embassy for the journalist and the diplomats themselves.
As for the Swedes, they were ready to willingly get rid of self-proclaimed pets, they were looking for overexposure...
Vladislav Kuznechik:
The Swedish authorities, it is not clear what they were doing. And they seemed to deliberately delay the whole process in general.
Vadim Drozdov, lawyer (Switzerland):
From the very beginning of the procedure in the committee against torture, the Swedish authorities tried to stop the consideration of the complaint, to declare the complaint inadmissible due to the fact that the Kuznechiks are not under the jurisdiction of Sweden.
I'll explain now. The fact is that the treacherous intrusion into the territory of the Swedish embassy is unauthorized penetration, and lawyers and some human rights activists tried to impose Kuznechiks on diplomats and turned to the UN to admit that from now on, the diplomatic mission on behalf of the Swedish authorities is responsible for the Belarusians, and they should pull them out of the basement and actually do something with them. The Swedish authorities had the right to file an appeal to be considered at the next session. And so it can go on indefinitely: appeal after appeal and no decision on the Kuznechiks.
Martin Uggla, human rights activist:
It would probably be the best option if someone could escort these men to the border of another country.
This is the time to introduce two more acting characters in the story of the escape. This is Mrs. Christina Johannesson, Ambassador of Sweden to Belarus. The term of her mission in our country expires literally in a month. And by the way, she was very, diplomatically speaking, concerned about the stay of the Kuzhechiks in the territory of the embassy entrusted to her. Another one, Mr. Rickardsson, deputy ambassador to Belarus, is fond of sports, namely wrestling and grasshoppers. But his term ended and earlier he had left for a promotion to another country. But he urgently returned exactly on May 24, allegedly to enhance the diplomatic mission. But he was enhancing it only for 5 days ...
So, let’s get on to the escape. June 1, 2022 2:13 p.m.
"A woman walked up to the gate... "
and over the fence passed to the guard a blue bag and three camping mats, which are used when going on trips with an overnight stay, for example, in the forest. The guard is looking for for some time, where to put the gear, a bench, but no, it is better, of course, closer to the basement in which the Kuznechiks live. Half an hour later, the Ambassador arrived and started re-parking the diplomatic car. Very inconvenient, but closer to the basement. Soon Rickardsson appears, he loads the bag into the trunk, some other things from that same basement, opens the back door. And Johannesson begins to distract the guard - how the fence is painted (they seem to have passion for fences there in the embassy), long enthusiastic conversations... Rickardsson descends into the basement a couple of times and then gives a signal - like "we begin the rescue operation, the grasshoppers are jumping out of the nest."
"The athlete comes out with a poster. Attention! The athlete brings out the targets".
And then let's pay attention to the amusing side of what is happening and the skill of disguise. Rickardsson ascends from the basement with a huge poster. ... He is getting closer to the car, a little closer - stop. Bad luck, the sun was not on the side of the embassy stuff.
"Kuzya is here. Yeah. This does not count, Luntik betrayed me. Luntik, don't you know how to play hide and seek?"
From animated picture "Luntik and his Friends", D. Schmidt, E. Salabay, 2006
Kuznechiks quickly jump out from behind the poster. Here, they get into the highlight again, and briskly jump into the rear passenger seats. The diplomatic car sank.
Bingo, the master school of disguise and embankment operation is completed. The car leaves the territory of the embassy.
In general, this, of course, is another precedent that amounts to a diplomatic scandal. It's one thing when the Grasshoppers were on the territory of the embassy, and quite another when the ambassador takes out two wanted people in a diplomatic car. Did Johannesson understand the risks? Indeed, at any moment, on the highway or within the city, the car could be stopped in the presence of our journalists, who always have a couple of uncomfortable questions ready. And how would the ambassador explain what is happening?
You can clearly see the driver and the passenger. Shadows in the back. Got it. The scanner confirms.
Or would a diplomatic car make an overdrive on the avenues of Minsk? Or another practice already from China, when the police on the street defiantly film the persecuted person. What would Ms. Ambassador do in this case? Did she circle around and take the Kuznechiks back? Into the basement? But our law enforcement officers turned out to be humane and did not put the ambassador in an uncomfortable position.
Vladislav Kuznechik:
When we had already left Minsk, we constantly looked back to make sure there was no tail behind. We left Minsk, we breathed a sigh of relief
So, the car of the diplomatic mission moves through Minsk (Gorodskoy Val, Timiryazeva Street), then Zhdanovichi, Zaslavl and further to the checkpoint on the border with Lithuania "Losha". The car passed the fuel station. It is going in the far left row. We follow it accurately. They are riding along the Molodechno highway. Toward Radoshkovichi. Got it. Toward Radoshkovichi.
At 18:00, the car is already at the border being inspected.
"Hello. Please open."
Madam Ambassador gets out of the car. A small hitch with the passenger door - no one. Now the trunk. Note: among the things in the trunk is the same bag, which the woman brought to the embassy along with three camping mats three hours earlier ... The bag is empty, the mats are gone.
And one more time. Attention to the reaction of Johannesson when the trunk was inspected. Hands up.
Maybe. Let's suppose that the ambassador was afraid that Latushko, a buff of trunk stories, would materialize in her car?
What has become of Kuznechiks? It's simple, they went to their usual habitat along with those camping mats. And made their way to Latvia through the forests.
"God willing. We can say that God kept us safe."
So what happens? Were they tracked off? Gone with God's help...
The First gave a command to stand down. Stand down accepted. I return to the base. The traffic police also removes control. We return to the base. Got it, back to base.
Something like this.. And now everyone justifiably asks the question: why? Although I would prefer the question: what is the reason?
What is the reason for locking yourself up in an embassy basement for two years? What is the reason for this poster conspiracy at the embassy and a kindergarten hide and seek game? What is the reason for the lady ambassador to brand her diplomatic persona and reputation with this circus and run away of Kuznechiks? ... And ... what do we need these Kuznechiks for? As it turned out, they were a burden for the Swedes, well, now let Latvia find use for another fugitive, they eat a lot, Lithuania, for example, spends heavily on one of such female fugitives, who was let to escape.












