{"id":536173,"date":"2026-04-23T23:40:33","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T20:40:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reform.news\/?p=536173"},"modified":"2026-04-24T10:46:51","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T07:46:51","slug":"decolonisation-means-showing-up-and-taking-your-place-nasta-rahatko-responds-to-kolya-sulima-s-criticism-over-participation-in-berlin-s-bebelplatz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/decolonisation-means-showing-up-and-taking-your-place-nasta-rahatko-responds-to-kolya-sulima-s-criticism-over-participation-in-berlin-s-bebelplatz","title":{"rendered":"\u201cDecolonisation Means Showing Up and Taking Your Place\u201d: Nasta Rahatko Responds to Kolya Sulima\u2019s Criticism Over Participation in Berlin\u2019s Bebelplatz"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

The debate over Belarusian participation in the Berlin Russian-language book fair \u201cBebelplatz\u201d has taken a new turn. Following sharp remarks<\/a> by writer Kolya Sulima<\/b> about colonial traditions, author of the book \u201cCarry With You,\u201d journalist and former media manager Nasta Rahatko<\/b> responded<\/a>, urging Belarusians not to \u201chide in a corner\u201d but to occupy international space.<\/p>\n

The presentation of Rahatko\u2019s book \u201cCarry With You\u201d is set to take place at the Berlin Russian-language book fair \u2014 the very event that sparked the controversy over Belarusian authors\u2019 participation.<\/p>\n

The writer responded to the criticism by arguing that Belarusian society spends too much time reflecting on a neighbouring country instead of building its own presence.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem is that while you are fighting against someone else\u2019s influence rather than increasing your own, you remain in that someone\u2019s shadow\u2026 To move to a qualitatively new level, you need to stop living in constant fear that Russia will consume you,\u201d<\/i> she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe Export Ourselves Very Poorly\u201d<\/b><\/h2>\n

Rahatko\u2019s main message is a lack of subjectivity. She believes Belarus remains a \u201csilent\u201d region for the world, spoken about either in the context of the war in Ukraine or in relation to Russia or China. Drawing on her extensive experience in media and political PR, she argues that Belarusian voices must be heard everywhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cUntil you tell your own story, someone else will do it for you. And you won\u2019t like that story. In my view, Belarusians should shout about themselves, be present at all festivals, exhibitions, conferences \u2014 anywhere at all,\u201d<\/i> she said.<\/p>\n

For Rahatko, decolonisation does not mean ignoring Russian-language platforms but being physically present on them with one\u2019s own narratives. She noted that although her book currently exists in Russian, a Belarusian version and translations into other foreign languages are already being prepared.<\/p>\n

\u201cDecolonisation is not about hiding in a corner and twitching every time someone says Minsk is clean. Decolonisation means showing up, taking your place and teaching others that you are not going anywhere,\u201d<\/i> she concluded.<\/p>\n

Context<\/b><\/h2>\n

Criticism of Belarusian participants in the Russian-language book fair \u201cBebelplatz,\u201d which opens in May, began with a sharp post by writer Kolya Sulima. He described the Berlin fair as a \u201cdump\u201d and a \u201cRussian festival,\u201d where Belarusian authors are forced to share space with figures of the Russian liberal \u00e9migr\u00e9 community. Sulima argues that the \u201cfree Russian culture\u201d in exile remains colonial toward Belarusians and Ukrainians.<\/p>\n

Subscribe to Reform.news cultural updates<\/a> on Telegram<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The debate over Belarusian participation in the Berlin Russian-language book fair \u201cBebelplatz\u201d has taken a new turn. Following sharp remarks by writer Kolya Sulima about colonial traditions, author of the book \u201cCarry With You,\u201d journalist and former media manager Nasta Rahatko responded, urging Belarusians not to \u201chide in a corner\u201d but to occupy international space. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":536172,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sharing_image":{"poster":"https:\/\/reform.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/69eb1feec54a2.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"template":"691142dd","mode":"auto"},"_sharing_image_fieldset":{"dTVKfmI95PYT":"\u201cDecolonisation Means Showing Up and Taking Your Place\u201d: Nasta Rahatko Responds to Kolya Sulima\u2019s Criticism Over Participation in Berlin\u2019s Bebelplatz"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[142375,142338],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-536173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-news"],"wps_subtitle":"","permalink_manager":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/536173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=536173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/536173\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/536172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=536173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=536173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=536173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}