How would you describe your blog? What does it put its accent on? Would you characterize your blog as a political one?

Sure, I write a lot about politics. However, my blog cannot be called political. Categorically not! Many people consider my blog to be journalism, which is quite a problem for me. I am tired of explaining why this blog is not journalism. Of course, I entertained the idea playing in an electronic mass medium like the internet. However, that is not journalism, but playing in the field of journalism, playing with politicians, with political analysts. You can take it as a tongue-in-cheek game with them, a game where they play themselves. In my blog I experiment with my texts. I do not know whether or not they realize it. I write in different ways every week but do not try writing like a journalist. Journalism is subject to general restrictions: kind of publication, editing, deadlines. The only restrictions bloggers face are that they have to spare time for their blogs and resist the temptation to write the same for money. I have been paying myself to be able to write this post in a blog without having to sell it.

What resources do you use?

I use the internet, a resource bloggers are restricted by. Whereas a journalist can ask a question to a human being, the blogger asks his/her brilliant or idiotic question to nowhere. And before you can ask your questions you have to gather information, without asking any questions. However strange it may sound, the government discloses much interesting on the internet today. If you are able to use this information, you can live. If I were a journalist, I would treat blogs like an online training course for journalists.

How much time does it take you to find material and maintain your blog?

I am surfing in the internet all day. That is how I maintain my blog. Usually, I write 4-5 posts simultaneously, gather material for the seventh post, compare facts, follow what is going on in this country. That is all, work on my blog.

What distinguishes your blog from others?

Usually, I joke and say I were writing 2,000 letters more than other bloggers. But it is no joke: 80 per cent of all bloggers write very short phrases, like on Twitter. Or they confine themselves to commenting on posts written by others. Sometimes I suppose that it is these comments that make the essence of the blogosphere. Almost always they are more interesting than the post itself. It is such an anti-expert mini community that discusses everything on a rather high level. Political analysts may read them, wonder and start thinking about things, too!

Apart from this, I suppose that all bloggers are lazy. They were perfectly able to write a lot and write well, but they make it easy for themselves. And why do they have to write without pay?

Could you describe your readers, please?

Mainly students, many from the Departments of Journalism of the Belarussian State University and European Humanitarian University. It seems to me that bloggers are rarely above the age of 40. Strictly speaking, twitterers are a much more mixed community with people of different ages. I have noticed that there is a very high degree of my readers' ways crossing in real life. It is a scene of insiders. In fact, it is no virtual community but people know each other from real life. I am not surprised any more when I realize that one of my friends' friend is a blogger who I know virtually. This overlap amounts to approx. 60%.

The situation concerning human rights and freedom of speech is rather difficult in Belarus. Was this the reason for you opening a blog? What was your motivation and has it changed by now?

I regret having to say that I do not have such a noble motivation to open people's eyes about what is going on in this country. There is much talk that Belorussians lack information. If so, why has the number of copies of independent newspapers not risen in the last few years?

I would not like to be a journalist today. It is total pressure: meetings, photographers are not allowed to take pictures, lenses are covered with hands, editors' offices are searched for strange reasons. No ban is necessary. Journalists to a high degree practice self-censorship. They do not cover current affairs. They do not ask difficult questions, knowing the answers beforehand. Journalists do not reflect very much. They do not look at what is going on. They do not think about how it is presented. They do not see how it affects people. However, it is impossible to take these topics and questions easy and abolish them. Nothing hinders bloggers to ask questions to nowhere. They ask them to journalists, too. Maybe that I involve readers into the game of "if you understand everything, you have not been told everything".

Look, I like the story when Anton Chekhov, during the rehearsal for The Cherry Orchard, cried to the actors from the audience, "It's comedy!" And so do I in every single post, "It's comedy!" It seems to me that irony is the only reasonable reaction to what is happening in this country, irony towards oneself, towards the government, towards the opposition. Again, taking offence at irony and humour is ridiculous, isn't it?

At re:publica you said you wanted to avoid exerting any influence on politics. However, you grew in popularity when you wrote about Lukashenko's control. Can you describe your blog's influence and position?

All bloggers overestimate their influence, sometimes to the point of ridiculousness. This is a fact. One has to distinguish between control and influence. As far as influence is concerned, it is like that: they cite you, that means you influence others. Journalists ask your questions, that means you influence others. They invite you to talk as an expert, that means you influence others. However, you are free to reject. As soon as a blogger feels influential, he/she stops being a blogger. He/she becomes influential to others. Each of his/her posts will be written from a position of influence. This is not blogging. That is why I take great care to shield my territory from influence's influence. And I am running scared when being called influential. However, I am not afraid of the government's reaction to this influence, but of myself. Bloggers need a sense of self-irony.

Furthermore, I would like to say that - when being asked questions by German journalists - it seemed to me that they tried to assess a blogger's control on the basis of his/her problems with the KGB. How can you be influential without any pressure being put on you? It is ridiculous.

A few weeks ago president Lukashenko announced a tightening of internet censorship. What impact did this announcement have? Did it have any impact on the Belarussian blogosphere?

A week ago I would have answered that it did not have any impact, however, today journalists were searched, computers were confiscated and they found the suspicious word "dictatorship". I do not put it like this because I do not understand it. Is there any danger in them finding files containing this horrible word on your computer? Do not make me laugh!

However, it is important not to develop any phobia in this situation. Our government cannot but try to control everything. They pass many similar laws ahead. They keep calm when everybody around gets uneasy. I prefer not to pay attention to such phobias. They destroy you even before the government passes its "fearsome" laws.

Do the leading figures of Belarus get nervous by such blogs?

No, they don't. The leading figures only get nervous when being made nervous by other leading figures.

Do you think that blogs can contribute to strengthening democracy in Belarus, particularly when taking into account that the internet users in Belarus are the youngest in Europe?

This is a visionary mission which blogs cannot have basically. Bloggers should be seen like a self-organized community. The fact that young people talk about their country is the best contribution to democracy, believe me. That is why I like blogs and bloggers. You better not interfere with their world by having a mission. Any mission would be laughed at, even by their disciples.

(translated from Russian: Claudia Blech, Berlin)