The Scars is a record of the largest pro-democracy uprising in the history of modern Belarus. Mass protests began in August 2020, leaving deep impressions on Belarusian society.

President Alexander Lukashenko, who has been head of state for twenty-seven years, and his security apparatus have brutally suppressed any resistance from Belarusians. On the night of the presidential election of 9 August, 2020, there were violent protests against the regime after the release of early results projecting that Lukashenko had won in a landslide. He officially ended up with 80 percent of the vote in an election that international monitors condemned as having been neither free nor fair.

The subject of this project is the scarring that remains from the protests and the regime’s crackdown. Physical scars—bruises, lacerations, fractures—but also psychological scars, trauma.

What is happening now in Belarus will also leave deep tears in the social fabric. The split into two societies is already apparent.

The protagonists of the photographs are the protesters beaten by the regime’s security services, the families murdered by the authorities, the ordinary citizens braving state violence in their pursuit of freedom. They are also the teenage soldiers drawn into the middle of this conflict.

Jędrzej Nowicki (b. 1995, Poznań) is a photographer living in Warsaw. In his work, he focuses on issues of social exclusion, human rights, solidarity, and social injustice, as well as environmental protection. He is deeply familiar with Central Eastern Europe. He also photographs in the Middle East.

Partners: Fundacja Razem Pamoja, Fundacja Gazety Wyborczej