31 years ago, on April 11, 1995, during a session of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Belarus, some deputies declared the referendum on changing national symbols and making Russian the state language illegal. Following this, the deputies went on a hunger strike. On the night of April 12, they were beaten and driven out by riot police. We discussed the significance of those events with Siarhei Navumchyk, a direct participant in them, former Supreme Council deputy, coordinator of the parliamentary opposition BPF, and politician.