Андрей Паук. Фото: facebook.com/andreypavuk
Belarusian blogger Andrei Pauk has been dismissed from the Vilnius public transport company VVT, where he worked as a trolleybus driver.
“A man from St. Petersburg speaks perfect Russian with the dispatcher. He has been working since August. No complaints about him. I’m heading to the supply manager with my things,” Pauk wrote on Facebook, posting a copy of his dismissal order.
Earlier this year, Pauk was hired by VVT as a trolleybus driver. He still does not speak Lithuanian. According to him, many drivers in the trolleybus depot communicate in Russian.
Recently, he found himself at the center of a controversy after a dispatcher refused to speak Russian with him. Pauk recorded the conversation and posted the video on social media. His actions were seen as a provocation. The company launched an internal investigation. Pauk later deleted the video and apologized to the dispatcher. However, the incident was picked up by Lithuanian media, sparking a full-blown scandal.
***
Andrei Pauk is a Belarusian blogger known for his provocative videos, including prank calls to Belarusian officials. Fearing arrest, he fled to Lithuania. In Belarus, he was sentenced in absentia to 12 years in prison on “extremism” charges. The regime in Minsk uses accusations of extremism and terrorism to persecute political opponents and suppress dissent.