Members of Belarusian band behind 2020 protest songs receive draconian sentences · Global Voices
Daria Dergacheva

Screenshot of YouTube video of the song ‘We are not a small nation’ by Tor Band from the YouTube channel Tor Musical Band. Fair use.
As the BBC reported, members of the Belarusian music group Tor Band were sentenced to years in prison at the end of October 2023.
This marks yet another escalation of a nationwide campaign against dissent that Belarusian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka has been conducting for years.
The band's leader, Dzmitry Halavach, was sentenced to nine years in prison. Another member, Yauhen Burlo, received an eight-year sentence, while third member Andrei Yaremchyk was sentenced to seven and a half years.
Tor Band actively participated in the protests against Belarus's dictatorship and unfair elections in 2020. Their most popular song at the time, called “We are not small people” (Мы не народец), was one of the symbols of the uprising.  The musicians, together with their wives, were taken into custody at the end of October 2022.
Before 2020, the Tor Band was already quite popular, performing in both Belarus and Ukraine together with famous rock and pop bands. During the election campaign and post-election protests, where Lukashanka’s victory was challenged by the opposition led by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the band's songs were playing everywhere at opposition rallies. The BBC notes that at that time, “We are not small people” spread like wildfire.
Here is the most popular Tor Band's song at that time: “We are not small people.”
The lyrics of the song “We are not a small nation” are as follows
Текст песни “Мы не народец”
Мы не быдло, стадо и трусы,
мы живой народ, мы белорусы!
С верой в сердцах, держим мы строй,
знамя свободы над головой!
Что-то случилось, что-то не так,
что-то сломалось у нас в головах.
В душе очень пусто, надломана вера,
кругом только вонь, любого размера.
Помойник зато набит до отказа,
сытый и глупый ждёшь ты приказа,
когда тебе скажут избить твой народ,
так пожелал больной кукловод.
Верю, верю, верю что…
Мы не быдло, стадо и трусы,
мы живой народ, мы белорусы!
С верой в сердцах, держим мы строй,
знамя свободы над головой!
Где наша совесть? Неужто продали?
Боюсь мой ответ будет очень банален.
Стали мы трусить, бояться, дрожать,
нас научили снова стучать.
А если чуть что: «Моя хата с краю,
Не видел, не слышал, я точно не знаю!»
Вот так поступает моральный урод,
но не родной белорусский народ.
Верю, верю, верю что…
Мы не быдло, стадо и трусы,
мы живой народ, мы белорусы!
С верой в сердцах, держим мы строй,
знамя свободы над головой!
We are not cattle, cattle and cowards,
we are a living people, we are Belarusians!
With faith in our hearts, we keep the formation,
the banner of freedom over our heads!
Something has happened, something is wrong,
something has broken in our heads.
My soul is very empty, faith is broken,
there is only a stink around, of any size.
But the garbage can is full to overflowing,
well-fed and stupid, you are waiting for an order
when they tell you to beat your people, so the sick puppeteer wished.
I believe, I believe, I believe that….
We are not cattle, cattle and cowards,
we are a living people, we are Belarusians!
With faith in our hearts, we keep the formation,
the banner of freedom over our heads!
Where is our conscience? Really sold?
I'm afraid my answer will be very banal.
We began to be afraid, afraid, trembling,
we were taught to snitch again.
And if  something happens:
“My hut is on the edge, I haven't seen, I haven't heard, I don't know for sure!” That's what a moral freak does,
but not the native Belarusian people.
I believe, I believe, I believe that…
We are not cattle, cattle and cowards,
we are a living people, we are Belarusians!
With faith in our hearts, we keep the order,
the banner of freedom over our heads!
After the protests were brutally crushed by the Lukashenka dictatorship, the band was warned to not organize concerts or release new songs.  However, the band’s leader, Dmitry Golovatch, said in an interview with local media in September 2020:
We didn't have any questions about whether to continue playing. We had songs that we wanted to release: the tracks “Long Live,” “Who, if not you.” There was tremendous support. We made so many friends all over the country! In general, it seems to me that Belarusians have learned to love themselves. There has never been such a feeling of love, and the feeling of patriotism is now going wild. We got to know our country
Lukashenka’s repression has came for the band in October 2022. Their songs, including “Long live Belarus,” were deleted from their popular YouTube channel, and the musicians were detained.
The BBC cited Viasna's Human Rights Center lawyer, Pavel Sapelka, saying that the musicians received “an unprecedented prison sentence for creativity.”
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the exiled opposition leader from Belarus, whose husband is serving an 18-year prison term, said on social media: “Lukashenka's regime shows its fear. Music can be silenced in courts, but never in our hearts.”