Dzmitry Kanavalau's parents are still under "guard" (photo)

Dzmitry Kanavalau's brother Alyaksandr, who was detained together with their parents after the blast in Minsk metro, moved from their flat in Vitsebsk.

"Kanavalau's brother lived with them, but now the parents live alone, just the two of them. In a 4-bedroom apartment. Oh, no, they also have a dog", - says my vis-a-vis Uladzimir Shmakau with a mixed feeing of slight envy and compassion. The 77-year-old pensioner from the first floor is the only neighbour of the Kanavalaus, who agreed to talk to us.

"I never knew him well, he was sort of… discreet. A quiet person. He would pass by saying "Hello" quietly. A very quiet man! He could have got into a bad company...But I don't know such people", — Uladzimir Shmakau says about Dzmitry Kanavalau.

Markaushchyna is a rather calm and quiet district of Vitsebsk. Mostly elderly people live here. Youth move to more prestige and well-maintained districts.

Stasau street, not far from the place where Dzmitry Kanavalau lived

The street where Kanavalau and Kavalyou grew up

There's no number on the doors of the Kanavalaus' flat

A village starts in front of the entrance to the Kanavalaus' flat

Despite the age difference, the pensioner still had some contacts with Dzmitry Kanavalau from time to time:

Uladzimir Shmakau: "As for this "laboratory", as the media wrote, - there is a small room, an old one, 120x120 cm, down in the basement. So, once I came down to my own basement to get some potatoes. I saw him sitting there, listening to the music. I did not think anything bad then... This "laboratory", as they say, was located right under my sitting room. It looked rather like a cell..." 

The pensioner has no doubt that Kanavalau and Kavalyou are the terrorists who committed the blast in Minsk metro.

Uladzimir Shmakau: "I used to think, maybe, someone paid him. Then I thought that he was a psycho. However, it turned out that he was a sort of... obsessed".

Shmakau recalls how he took his watch bracelet to have it shortened by one link to Kanavalau's father, who is a watch master. He did this work very fast."They are also quiet. His father has never committed any hooliganism, even under the influence of alcohol. They simply missed something in his upbringing... However, how we can be sure we haven't missed anything!".

I met a youngster who hid his face under a hood, in the entrance. A couple of seconds later Kanavalau's father went out of the house, accompanied by this very youngster. A man in a sports jacket was watching all this from the corner of the street. I saw him every time I walked out of the Kanavalaus' house. 

"And now, I see - his [Dzmitry Kanavalau's - Euroradio] father walked out, and that "guard" followed him. They are here every day. Two of them, and a car. What is it for?" - wonders the pensioner. As for Kanavalau's mother, she refused to talk to me on the spot. Maybe, not only because she is in mourning for her son, but also because of the guards' presence. So I called to the Kanavalaus' flat:

— Yes.

— Good morning! My name is Pavel, I am a journalist from Minsk. Would you let me in, please?

— I am sorry. Goodbye!

Other neighbours are not very willing to speak. The Kanavalaus' family turns into the city loners, voluntarily or not.

Main photo: gazeta.ua.

Other photos — Euroradio.