Political Briefing

Technical discussions before recording: Participant 1: Here, Seryoga, Sedzha, come on, play. The recording has already started. Participant 2 (Seryoga): Alright, yeah, go ahead and record. Participant 1: Let's go. Official news text: Announcer (reading text): In the fraternal family of Lenin's path, Minsk, December 29. The festive fraternity of banners and transparencies, the enlightenment and streets of the republic continue the celebrations dedicated to the sixtieth anniversary of the Byelorussian SSR and the Communist Party of Byelorussia. Today, a military parade and a demonstration of the workers of the hero city took place on the central square. On the podium is Politburo member of the CPSU Central Committee V.V. Grishin. Candidate members of the Bureau of the CPSU Central Committee K. Aliev, P.M. Masherov, Sh.R. Rashidov, and A. Shevardnadze. Party and Soviet leaders of the republic, heads of delegations from the fraternal union republics and Leningrad, veterans of the revolution, the Civil War and the Great Patriotic War, leading workers and innovators of production. Passing through Red Square are the soldiers of the Minsk garrison, continuing the glorious traditions of the Soviet people. Columns of city representatives from all regions of the republic are moving into the square; they enthusiastically display the language of numbers and facts written on transparencies: over the last decade, the economic potential of the republic has doubled every 7 years; the production volume of the chemical and petrochemical industries, compared to the old successes of the fortieth year, has increased 719 times. Comments and shouts during the reading: Announcer (voice in the background): Idiot! Announcer (reading text): ...electricity... electrical energy in... In the decoration of the festive columns, the heroic history of Soviet Byelorussia and its Communist... Announcer (shouting): Move! Move! Announcer (reading text): ...and the Communist Party, the fighting dedication of the CPSU, the glorious path traversed by the Byelorussian people in the united family of Soviet peoples, from poverty and rightlessness to unprecedented...