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Some 35 youths arrested in Minsk over attempted pillow fight

Some 35 young people were arrested in Minsk on Wednesday evening when they attempted to stage an unsanctioned pillow fight to mark the anniversary of the 1514 Orsha Battle, in which the army of the Grand Duchy of Litva defeated a superior Russian force, BelaPAN reports.

About 100 youths gathered in the square behind the Belarusian State Philharmonic Hall at 7 p.m., bringing along their pillows.

Organizer Andrey Kim announced that the event was patriotic, non-violent and non-political and asked participants to divide into two groups to reenact the battle between the two armies, symbolized by red and white ribbons.

Policemen soon arrived at the scene, prompting Mr. Kim to declare the event finished and call on participants to leave. Nevertheless, police did not allow the youths to disperse and began grabbing them.

Those arrested were taken to local police stations to be fingerprinted, have their passports checked and give written explanations. Journalists were told at one of the stations that police had been sent to the scene after a citizen had complained about being beaten up with pillows.

Between 70 and 80 of those who escaped the crackdown marched to Gorky Park and staged a pillow fight there. Between 30 and 40 people then made their way Nyamiha Street and held one more pillow fight.

The first-ever mass pillow fight was staged in Minsk on July 15, 2009 on the occasion of the 599th anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald in defiance of the authorities' ban. Another pillow fight took place in September to celebrate the anniversary of the Orsha Battle; the city government sanctioned the event in which around 400 young people took part.

More than 200 young people were arrested during an unsanctioned pillow fight that was held in Minsk in July on the occasion of the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald.