- Jeannette Catsoulis, NY TIMES

With fury and agony, "Long Knives Night" and "Reporting from a Rabbit Hole" confront Europe's last dictator: Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus.  Writer / director Victor Dashuk has risked imprisonment and abuse – common for dissidents, as you see in the films – to depict and attack Lukashenko's rise to authority.

"Long Knives Night" chronicles the 1996 anticonstitutional coup in Belarus.  Lukasheko's actions are both symbolic and explicitly political: he reverts to Soviet-style state symbolism, blocks voting, and sics riot police on protesters to beat them bloody.  With breathtaking access, Dashuk also reveals footage of the actual elected legislators locked out of their offices by the President's own guards.

The New York Times describes "Reporting from a Rabbit Hole" as "less philosophical and more turbulent...explores the realities of life in Belarus and the fates of those who dare oppose the president. Driven by the voices of Belarussian citizens...the film heaves with disturbing scenes of violence against innocent Belarussians."

Though widely recognized as one of the most dangerous men in the world, Lukashenko has rarely before been depicted on film.  When finally revealed in New York City in 2006, in copies smuggled out of Belarus, they caused a sensation.  Now, at last, these harrowing and absolutely essential films are ready for all libraries. 


"Long Knives Night."  Documentary, 56 minutes, 1999.  Written and directed by Victor Dashuk.  "Reporting from the Rabbit Hole." Documentary, 40 minute, 2001.  Written and directed by Victor Dashuk

"dark, damning...worth viewing in any format, especially considering the institutionalized wrath borne out against protestors, journalists and dissenting politicians, not to mention Dashuk's own persecution at Lukashenko's hand. There are as raw as documentaries get, but under the circumstances, you should not want it any other way."