Belarusian game developers on the situation in the country: "It's scary here, very scary"

“It is dangerous to leave the house,” “There were cases when people went to take out the garbage and did not return,” “We know about the detention of two of our employees,” the Belarusian game developers said App2Top.ru about what is happening in the country and with them now.

After the elections, which were held with massive fraud, the current leader Alexander Lukashenko was recognized as the president of the country. This has led to mass protests, which are being brutally suppressed at the moment. At the same time, communication problems began in the country.

In connection with the situation App2Top.ru I sent inquiries to about ten Belarusian companies, their managers and employees in order to find out how they see the situation and how they are doing.

Not everyone was ready to communicate. Some agreed to respond only on condition of anonymity. Officially, only Gismart, whose two employees were detained, spoke on its behalf.

What is happening in the country now?

Anonymous speaker 1

Now every evening and every night protests of peaceful citizens begin. Internal troops and special equipment have been brought into the city. Everyone who just goes out after 7 p.m. is taken away or beaten, regardless of where you were going. The Internet only partially appeared today (the comment was sent on August 12. — Ed.).

Anonymous Speaker 2

Peaceful rallies are taking place in the country. The reason for the rallies is massive and brazen election fraud. Peaceful demonstrations are harshly suppressed by the authorities. They grab and beat everyone indiscriminately, without asking questions. Special means are used against people in shorts and T-shirts: rubber bullets, stun grenades.

Since Sunday evening, the Internet has practically not been working in the country.

Anonymous speaker 3

No comments.

Position Gismart Company

The Internet in Belarus was turned off for three days, two of which were working. We assumed that some restrictions were possible. In this regard, we decided to be safe — and sent some of the employees to our Kiev office in advance.

How much does the situation affect the company’s work?

Anonymous speaker 1

The work has been completely blocked since the 9th, we are still on the remote. It was impossible to work without the Internet. They started transferring all their timings.

Anonymous Speaker 2

First of all, I would comment on the morale: everyone feels depressed, the topic of conversation, of course, is only about events in the country, it is very difficult to focus and work normally. I think how the lack of Internet affects the work of an IT company, can I not say? There is no access to business managers, analysts, livops platforms, etc.

Anonymous speaker 3

From what directly affects the usual work of the company, this is:

a) the situation with covid;

b) complete or partial absence of Internet for two days (Monday and Tuesday).

There is no access to cloud solutions, to servers with licenses, communication between employees who are forced to work from home is very difficult. The work of some departments and employees was paralyzed during these two days. The IT department did everything possible to provide employees with communication with each other and the outside world.

Are there any financial losses due to the situation?

Anonymous speaker 1

Yes, since all planned activities were stopped, there was also no possibility of transferring funds. Of course, the bigger the company, the more significant the financial losses will be.

Anonymous speaker 2

I can’t count the losses. Right now, money is the last thing we worry about.

Anonymous speaker 3

The release mode of new product versions has been knocked down. Financial losses are still small, but plans for the next months will have to be revised.

Position Gismart Company

We have sent part of the UA and marketing team to Ukraine, who are working on creating and managing advertising campaigns for our games and applications that directly affect revenue.

This decision protected the company from significant financial losses. As for the rest of the team working from Minsk, then, of course, the workflow has almost stopped.

In what mode is the team currently working?

Anonymous speaker 1

We are working on restoring all services and activities. Today, the Internet has partially appeared, the regime should get better, but there are no guarantees and confidence that the connection will not be disconnected again.

Anonymous Speaker 2

We can say that in fact the company has been almost not working for the last three days. First of all, because of the moral state: it is impossible to abstract and call yourself apolitical at the moment. I can’t do anything special myself, I’m trying to help the victims somehow.

Anonymous speaker 3

The company has been operating in a distributed mode since spring. Currently, this looks like the most optimal work option, ensuring the safety of employees.

Position Gismart Company

We used various VPN services, but the internet speed and connection quality were unsatisfactory. Employees mostly worked on tasks that did not require a network connection. In addition, we see how what is happening in the country negatively affects the morale of employees and productivity.

Is there a threat to employees?

Anonymous speaker 1

Yes, everything is under threat now, it’s dangerous to leave the house. You can’t even call an ambulance or the Ministry of Emergency Situations. In places where protests are taking place, rubber bullets are being fired, gas grenades are flying into houses. Also, riot police shoot at passing cars.

Anonymous Speaker 2

There is no direct threat to those who do not take to the streets. However, there were cases when people went to take out the garbage and did not return.

I want to emphasize the point on “for those who do not come out.” Today I heard a couple of stories about how representatives of the authorities came to the company and took away specific people who took part in peaceful rallies.

All companies included in the HTP (Belarus Hi-Tech Park) received a warning from the administration that if their employees are “caught” at rallies, the companies will be excluded from the park.

Anonymous speaker 3

We all watch the same videos about what is happening on the streets. Many employees express concerns about just going outside, to a cafe or to a store. Therefore, we recommend that you currently work in a well-developed distributed mode.

Position Gismart Company

At the moment, we are aware of the detention of two of our employees. The location of one of them is still unknown. We are monitoring the situation and will make every effort to help our employees.

Some Belarusian IT companies say that they will have to move if the situation in the country does not change. Have you considered such a scenario?

Anonymous speaker 1

This option is not being considered yet, or we do not know about it yet (the speaker is not from the top management of the company. — Editor’s note). Some of the employees from other countries who moved to Belarus for work, including me, are considering the option of returning to their homeland, if, of course, they are released.

It’s scary here, very scary.

Anonymous speaker 2

We are planning a call on this topic in our company next week.

This condition “the situation will not change” is about what?

If the Internet does not appear, if the government does not change, if the pressure from the HTP continues?

In any case, I can’t imagine how a business can ignore the current situation and not think through plan B and even C.

Anonymous speaker 3

We are aware that the state is ready for short-term information isolation. This can paralyze the work of a company like ours. At a minimum, we are now obliged to take a number of actions to ensure the smooth operation of the company in case of a repeat of such a scenario.

It is worth noting and expressing great gratitude to our employees that despite all the difficulties this year, they show themselves as true professionals and continue to responsibly perform their work with the highest quality.

Position Gismart Company

Today it is difficult to predict anything in the long term, but in case of interruptions to the Internet or other force majeure, we will be forced to continue the temporary relocation of employees. At the same time, we still very much hope that the Minsk office will be able to continue working normally.