"My life's work — all destroyed." What is known about the "Intex-Press" case, whose editors received long prison sentences

The court sentenced Yanukevich to 14 years in prison and a fine of 3000 basic units (135,000 rubles), and Pakalenka to 12 years and 1000 basic units (45,000). The trial was held in a closed session. Radio Svaboda tells more about both journalists and the publication.

Business Bulletin

The "Intex-Press" publication was founded in Baranavichy by entrepreneurs in 1994. Initially, it was conceived as a business bulletin that would acquaint readers with the development of business in the region and the country. The first issue, with a circulation of 4000 copies, reached readers as a television supplement (at that time, the newspaper belonged to the local television company "Intex").

With the arrival of Uladzimir Yanukevich as editor-in-chief in 1996, the weekly transformed into a full-fledged socio-political publication. The concept and design were revised.

In 2001, on the basis of the editorial office, "Publishing House 'Intex-Press'" LLC was founded. One after another, regional publications associated with Intex-Press began to appear — "Hantsavitski Chas", "Lyakhavitski Chas", "Niasvizhski Chas", "Miastsovy Chas" (Pinsk).

The newspaper Intex-Press has repeatedly won first place in independent journalistic competitions in the nominations "Best Regional Newspaper", "Best Website", and has been awarded numerous prizes.

"I'm a choleric by nature, it's hard to work with me"

Editor-in-chief Uladzimir Yanukevich, an engineer by his first specialty, worked at the Baranavichy Cotton Association before entering the media sphere. In 1996, he headed Intex-Press. To manage the newspaper, he also needed an economic education — he graduated from "Nargos" (now the Belarusian State Economic University).

Andrei Pakalenka initially worked as a system administrator, focusing on networks and website development for a long time. In 2018, at the "Press Club," Uladzimir Yanukevich shared his principles of journalistic work with younger colleagues:

"Staff must be interested in the development and success of production. Engagement is the latest trend that has become important to me. I'm a technical person, I build everything in schemes. From physics, it's clear to me that all work is done by energy. What energy drives human work? Meanings. For one person, the key word is money. For another person, the meaning is career, and the key word for them is development. I must provide them with conditions for development in my company. And finally, the third meaning important to me is the pleasure of work. The pleasure of new projects... I'm a choleric by nature, it's hard to work with me. But I love smart people, who are also difficult to work with, but it's easy to learn and develop with them. So when I see a smart person, I try to hire them. We will find work for them, we will invent what they should do."

"He was the first to rush to help"

Aliaksandr (all interlocutors' names have been changed for security reasons) is one of those colleagues who has known Uladzimir Yanukevich since the mid-1990s. He says that Uladzimir was one of the most humane and sympathetic people in the journalistic community.

"The verdict results are shocking. He was not and cannot be any 'traitor to Belarus'. He is pure and honest, he cannot go against his conscience. When a similar fate befell me, Uladzimir was the first to rush to help me and my loved ones. And there was a feeling that he cared, that others knew about me and cared, worried – it gave me strength in captivity. Uladzimir and his associates created one of the most stable media structures in Belarus, which the state could not influence. And now they found such a tool of influence... I also know that he needs medical help. And he is already of age. Let's not forget that Andrei Pakalenka shares his fate. He is also a courageous and principled person," Aliaksandr says.

Colleagues' hopes rest solely on the solidarity of the journalistic community and the public in a broad sense, Belarusian and European politicians.

"Generator, locomotive"

Uladzimir Yanukevich's former colleague, Hanna, emphasizes that the entire development of Intex-Press began precisely under Yanukevich's leadership: he created a large enterprise that covered many regions.

"You know, there are editors who sit, smoke, and write columns that no one is interested in. But he was very modern, the strongest, the most outstanding among editors. He had a mission — to tell people the truth. And this was combined with a business that was one of the largest in Baranavichy: advertisers flocked to us. When Baranavichy became too small for him, he created an association of regional publishers, an entire publishing house. He was the generator, the locomotive of this movement," says Hanna.

The interlocutor adds that at meetings, when journalists sometimes despaired about what new to invent, Uladzimir always had ideas to propose. He was constantly moving, demanded searching for topics, and suggested where to find them. And when the publication was thrown out of all distribution systems — from mail subscriptions, from "Belsayuzdruk," stores were forbidden to sell the newspaper — Uladzimir created a private distribution system.

"This was the first time in Belarus. We had our own postmen. When we were kicked out of one printing house, he found another; when we were kicked out of a store, he found another store that didn't yet know we couldn't be distributed. And we always found a way to reach the reader. Readers simply adored us. Because we were interested in everyone's life: we were interested in the small and large problems of Baranavichy, we were interested in people's moods, what they thought. People felt that. People knew where to turn — I can't imagine where they turn now," says Hanna.

The journalist deeply regrets that such a large, outstanding business has been destroyed, that the 30-year history of Baranavichy, which her colleagues wrote every day, has been ruined and trampled.

"Both my life's work and Yanukevich's life's work — all destroyed! At 65 years old, he is given 14 years in prison! For what? They held a closed trial — because what kind of 'treason against the state' is there? The man ran an open business, we had inspections, we paid taxes, we worked legally. No one could have imagined that such a successful business could be so easily destroyed," says Hanna.

"He stayed in Belarus until the very end"

Media manager and former colleague Alena remembers Uladzimir as a man who stood at the origins of Belarusian independent journalism.

"He lived for it, he developed journalism for decades very successfully: 'Intex-Press' was a model of a powerful regional media — both qualitatively in content and as a business. For many colleagues, this media was an example to aspire to. Uladzimir Yanukevich's eyes glowed for journalism, for his native region, his native country. He stayed in Belarus until the very end. And now we see this — such a terrible sentence handed down to a media manager who made such a contribution to the development of the region and the country!

And Uladzimir is also a man with a super strong core, very thoughtful, principled, willing to share and help. I hope we will do everything possible for him and our other colleagues to be free as soon as possible," says Alena.

Lizaveta did an internship at "Intex-Press" when she was studying at university. She recalls how influential and reputable the newspaper was at that time.

"People actually subscribed, bought it at kiosks, read it. Compared to the state-run district newspaper 'Nash Kray', 'Intex-Press' was a very modern, successful publication.

I conducted surveys on how residents felt about changes in the city, utility, and economic issues. And people eagerly responded — they respected the non-state newspaper more than that district paper. We also had a section with the photographer called 'Fashionable Baranavichy' — what residents wore. The topics were interesting to people!

The team was very friendly, with collegial relations within the editorial office. Interns were allowed to show a lot of creativity and imagination, although the editor-in-chief was an authority — strict, demanding. I am shocked — 14 years for 'treason against the state'!" Lizaveta does not hide her emotions.

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