Dmitry Yesenevich and Mikhail Zuy’s Alphabet: ‘Chin Chinarem All the Way!’

Dmitry Yesenevich and Mikhail Zuy’s Alphabet: ‘Chin Chinarem All the Way!’

I must admit, I’ve never laughed as much during an interview as I did this time! The guests of our project, Dmitry Yesenevich and Mikhail Zuy, are the epitome of positivity, joy, and laughter. A couple of months ago, we knew them as actors from the Yanka Kupala Theater. Today, they are the faces behind the humorous portrayal of officials on their YouTube channel ‘ChinChinChannel,’ and the creators of the viral hit ‘Shchuchynshchina,’ featuring Yelena Zuy-Voytekhovskaya. In the ‘Alphabet’ section of the ‘City of Women’ magazine, the actors shared their memories and fresh jokes about everyday life.

‘ChinChinChannel’: A Satirical Take on Belarusian Officials

‘ChinChinChannel’ is a Belarusian state YouTube channel that serves as an administrative communication channel with the public and produces certified audiovisual content for citizens. Actors from the closed Kupala Theater, Mikhail Zuy, Dmitry Yesenevich, and director Andrei Kashpersky, launched the satirical web series ‘ChinChinChannel.’ On the channel, the Kupala actors humorously depict the daily routine of their characters – Belarusian officials. ‘ChinChinChannel’ is your guarantee for a good mood!

Dmitry Yesenevich and Mikhail Zuy

‘Anything Goes!’

Dmitry: The anaconda is the largest snake in the world, and the stork brings babies. And in our village, they used to say, ‘Stork-log, tell us what the weather will be like tomorrow!’ If it flew high, I don’t know what the weather would be, and if it flew low, I still don’t know! Maybe we should judge by the swallows. Generally, as Belarusians say, ‘Anything goes!’ It seems we’re creating a Belarusian dictionary today!

‘Upstart’

Mikhail: For some reason, this word comes to mind. It’s negative in meaning – that’s how people here insult others, telling them not to stand out. But now, I think the meaning is changing. For example, our people are no longer being introverts; they are trying to express their opinions and voice their concerns.

‘WELL, WHAT DID YOU WANT, ON THE ONE HAND? AND ON THE OTHER HAND, WHAT DID YOU WANT TOO? AND HOW DID YOU THINK?’

Mikhail: This is Dmitry Anatolyevich Yesenevich – an old shipmate, a sea and steppe wolf. My colleague from the Yanka Kupala Theater… Dmitry: Former colleague! Mikhail: My former colleague from the Yanka Kupala Theater. We also created several musical groups of varying popularity, success, and heaviness, such as ‘DetiDetei,’ ‘Ili ili,’ and many other fictional musical projects that, fortunately, no one knows about. I was also seen at the SHT theater, where we worked together. We write music for various projects and live in neighboring buildings. Our latest creation, which we dug up from the Belarusian noosphere, is the officials. They have long existed as characters, and we have performed in their image in various situations. For a month now, we have been doing this humor legally on the YouTube network. And he can catch a pigeon – I’ve seen it!

Life

Mikhail: ‘Zh’ stands for a women’s magazine! The first time I read ‘City of Women’ was in an autumn park. I bought it at a kiosk, lit a freshly rolled cigarette, and thought about Belarus… (Laughs.) Generally, life. Life now is like a swing. Before, it was like a carousel, going in circles: sometimes gray, sometimes bright. But now we’ve moved to the swings. Every day, the mood drops – you squat – it seems that everything is so heavy, and you can’t get up. But then bright events happen, complete strangers give positive emotions that lift you up – the swings fly up. Dmitry: And there are also ‘horrors’ in our life. In our life, ‘horrors happen.’

Local Historians

Dmitry: When we were forced to go to exhibitions in school, there was no interest. Now, it’s a pleasure! Especially when we come on tour. For example, Misha and I had a tradition – to go to the local GUM or TSUM and buy something unnecessary there.

‘IT’S NECESSARY TO THINK AND DO ‘THIS WAY AND THAT WAY.’ AND IT’S POSSIBLE TO THINK ONE THING, SAY ANOTHER, DO A THIRD, AND TELL EVERYONE A FOURTH! AND SO, POSSIBLY, THERE WILL BE SOME BALANCE…’

Love

Dmitry: In Belarusian, the word ‘love’ is much broader than ‘kahanne.’ We all love our work, our families, our friends, our homeland, and are proud of it.

Natasha

Dmitry: Natasha-Natasha! That’s how they call all our girls in Turkey and joke about it. I remembered a story from our student years when Misha went there for a competition, and the Turks sold him pants at the market. When he returned, it turned out they were women’s pants. Mikhail: Yes, they told me, ‘Super! Super!’ – I nodded and said, ‘Well, yes, super!’ And they were two sizes smaller and women’s! Dmitry: They tricked him, in general. Those are my associations with the letter N.

Cheerful Fellow!

Mikhail: The cheerful fellow U is the karmic twin of Dmitry Yesenevich! (Laughs.) This is my favorite childhood book, of course. I remember when I watched the movie ‘Guest from the Future,’ I cried over the line ‘And what have I done for tomorrow today.’ At six years old, I sat and sobbed in my chair because I hadn’t done anything for the future! You need to not just do your homework but invent something! And when I rewatched it as an adult, I realized that this movie inflicts terrible trauma on an undeveloped psyche. When this beautiful girl goes to a wonderful world and leaves us in hell. And you understand that she’s gone, and you’ll never get there, and you won’t become an engineer either! That’s why you cry.

ShCh

Dmitry: Sharkaushchina, Shchuchyn… All this is from our officials! Everything that has the letter Sh or ShCh is our favorite! There is also a good Belarusian word ‘Shchas’ – it’s written with ‘shch,’ ‘Shchas we will do everything for you!’ It means: don’t rush, stop pressing us, we know our job! ‘Shchas’ means ‘never.’

Y.y.y.

Mikhail: Besides the operation, are there any associations? Dmitry: There was a group like that. Mikhail: Exactly! Shugaley was the soloist, I think. This group is considered cult, but no one knows about it. And this is our topic: when there is something cult, but no one knows about it!

‘SOMEWHERE YOU NEED TO BOW, SOMEWHERE TO DEVIATE. SOMEWHERE TO SQUAT, SOMEWHERE TO WAIT. SOMEWHERE IN A BALL – AND LIE LIKE THAT FOR SEVERAL YEARS. BUT WHAT IF YOU HAVE TO?’

Dmitry: Because how can you do something creative under a dictatorship? Mikhail: And when they find out, they always ask the question, ‘Is this done here?’ I think there is some kind of upsurge in this area now. We had this thought that people might start to be interested in their own and love their own. Now, if this is our group, then it needs to be listened to. The letter Y led me to these thoughts.

Jurmala

Dmitry: Of course, the memories are connected with tours. Tours are a good time; a lot happens then. Mikhail: At this time, you break away from the usual routine, and various chakras and portals begin to open. We have a story from the All-Russian theatrical festival of cabaret ‘Funny Goat.’ We stood with our friends from St. Petersburg on the bank of the Neva River – and suddenly a cannon fired. We started laughing – and this lasted for about five hours. Seriously! Without stopping! We laughed and laughed! Even when we got on the train, we were still laughing. Something is born and invented from such experiences. Dmitry: Although I wasn’t there, I confirm that laughing for five hours is real! And of course, I emphasize that on tours, ‘No-no!’ Mikhail: ‘No-no!’ What are you talking about?! A maximum of two cups of coffee! Dmitry: Of course! How can you laugh for five hours and still consume anything? Mikhail: Yes, to laugh for five hours, you need to be in good physical shape and not abuse anything! Dmitry: And have…

For more information, visit their official YouTube channel.