"The Clown"
Many, who talked with this man, say that he is mad, some say that he is an informer (non-staff employee of special bodies) and some say that he is an upstart. I think that they all are right only partially. About him it was possible not to speak, as this man is similar to "Moska" which barks to the elephant from a known fable by Krylov. The elephant does not pay any attention to Moska, but that dog considers itself to be strong. There is one circumstance, which forces us to write about this citizen and to give some time to him. He was in our team and betrayed us.
Some years ago an elderly man who looks like as if he has had no certain residence for a long time glanced to our strike committee. He said that he was a chief of the Independent Trade union of businessmen of Polotsk and Novopolotsk. Our doors are open to everybody so we also believed this externally unpleasant man. Who and when chose V. Shevchenko as the chairman of the Trade union in Polotsk and Novopolotsk: for many of us it is still a riddle.
We made a serious mistake. Under our recommendation V. Shevchenko received the Grant on release of his own newspaper (Grant is an external gratuitous financing up to 24.000 dollars. USA). It is a separate large story how he swore eternal love to businessmens movement, ran after me with the request to give him the recommendation for reception of the Grant (without the recommendation Grants are not given). We gave the recommendations. We thought, that he is an adult: when money appear he will do his business, will begin to publish a newspaper for Vitebsk region. He began. But if someone read this newspaper, he will understand that we helped him to receive money in vain. The internal world of this man and his appearance is a united whole.
The sessions of the strike committee with participation of V. Shevchenko began to turn into the play with clowns. He could talk nonsense by hours, interrupt all and shout at all. He began to be invited to meetings very rarely. After direct treachery of the interests of the strike committee he was excluded from the strike committee because he together with state trade union tried to break the republican strike of the businessmen. After that V. Shevchenko took offence and simply became to do harm to us.
He himself does not represent serious danger. The monkey likes to be affected before the mirror and V. Shevchenko - before the public. His articles about those people who expelled him from the strike committee are the complete nonsense, and it is known to everybody. We call his newspaper The Notes of the Mad. He tries to unite with state and separate trade unions, with not absolutely decent people such as he, and also to mislead the businessmen error by the new association and it is a danger. For what is it necessary? The rigid confiscate measures for the businessmen are planned, and this can cause a new wave of strikes. How can we avoid it? To create pocket structure from "moskas" and "clowns", which will announce about strikes and hide in bushes. And instead of the planned and prepared actions of the protest, the isolated and spontaneous strikes of the businessmen will turn out. And such isolated strikes do not represent any danger for the authorities. For us, businessmen ,such steps are a probable failure of the republican action of the protest. The strike committee of the businessmen was, is and will be. We recommend to all businessmen not to be involved in adventures, which today are offered us.
It is not necessary to perceive seriously Priest Gapon and those similar to him!
The decision on strike, its terms will be accepted only after the filling of the appropriate forms and only by the decision of the strike committee. Now we prepare a large meeting to protect our economic rights and lawful interests.
Valery Levonevsky
