Tsikhanovskaya had 44 visits and about 50 high-level meetings this year, and we are talking about the specific results of these visits.

Briefly

• When the war started, attracting attention to Belarus became much more difficult.

  It was critically important to change the perception of Belarus after February.

  One of the main results is that Belarusians did not become outcasts, which distinguishes us from Russia.

  The visa ban was not introduced, scholarships were restored, and residence permits continue to be issued.

• Next year, I hope for Ukraine's victory in this war, for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Belarus.

  But we understand that the reality may turn out to be completely different - Lukashenka may send troops to Ukraine, and then the bombings will begin in response.

• I would like that in 2023 the desire to harass our own people would disappear.

  After all, this year is not ending very happily.

  We all feel that people have started blaming each other for the fact that we still haven't been able to achieve our goals.

"There were 44 visits this year, but there were many more meetings"

- Svetlana, let's start with the numbers, and then try to understand and analyze them.

Could you count how many high-level visits you had in 2022, how many meetings there were with the first persons in the states, what was geography and geopolitics?

— At the end of each year, we prepare the results of the year, and I asked my team to calculate where we were, with whom we met.

There were 44 visits this year, but there were many more meetings.

I met with more than 50 representatives at a high level, with presidents or prime ministers.

I met with Justin Trudeau, Ursula von der Leyen, Roberta Metsala, called Joe Biden... As for geography, it's mainly Europe, our neighbors who more or less understand the situation in Belarus.

Among the new countries are Romania and Canada.

For the first time, I met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Australia, the former leaders of Mongolia, Chile.

I remember how the former president of Chile talked about how they managed to transition from dictatorship to democracy in a non-violent way.

It was very interesting to listen.

There was a very important meeting with the Brazilian ambassador, as Brazil still maintains trade relations with the regime.

They now have a new president on whom they place a lot of hopes, and I hope to meet him, maybe not in Brazil, but somewhere in other countries.

We also met with officials from Indonesia, Kenya, Colombia, and Costa Rica.

We understand that we need to work not only with Western countries, but also to establish relations with distant countries, which, apparently, do not understand what is happening in Belarus, but they have votes in the UN Human Rights Council, in the UN General Assembly, in other international organizations, and their votes are very important when voting.

The world is tight now

"When the war started, attracting attention to Belarus became much more difficult"

— 44 visits per year, which is approximately 4 foreign visits each month.

And more than 50 meetings with heads of state per year.

Alyaksandr Lukashenka never had so much in all 28 years, not to mention the geography of his visits.

You always emphasize that your main task is to keep the topic of Belarus on the international agenda, not to let the world forget about the humanitarian disaster in Belarus, thousands of political prisoners, and this is a long-term, consistent work that bears fruit both in the near and long term.

If we talk about the more specific results of the visits, what would you call the most important?

- This year, when the war started, attracting attention to Belarus became much more difficult.

To be honest, it was not always possible to get the meetings we needed.

But it was critically important to change the perception of Belarus after February.

That is why I spent a lot of time traveling.

One of the main results is that Belarusians did not become outcasts, which distinguishes us from Russia.

The visa ban was not introduced, scholarships were restored, and residence permits continue to be issued.

All this is also the result of a lot of work and negotiations, not always the easiest.

It pains me to see that the topic of political prisoners is lost behind the topic of war.

But we try to remind, and in every speech I try to name specific names, tell the stories of people behind bars.

It has an effect actually.

And recently, about 300 members of the European Parliament signed postcards to our political prisoners.

More than 400 political prisoners already have their so-called godfathers among famous politicians.

In every statement, in every resolution on Belarus, there is a demand to release political prisoners.

It is also important that the world remembers.

It is also important that the platform for collecting evidence of the crimes of Lukashenka and his associates continues to operate.

Belarusian and foreign human rights defenders participate in this platform.

If changes begin, it will be very difficult to recreate some facts, because those who committed crimes will do everything possible to cover their tracks.

More than 15 thousand documents of these crimes have already been collected, and these data will be transferred to the UN and international courts.

I am sure that this will help to restore legality in Belarus after the changes.

"As women joke, I can rest as I want - I want to clean, I want to wash clothes"

— If we talk about personal results in numbers, let's try to name a few: how many days did you have the opportunity to spend with your children, how many days did you rest this year?

How many days did Siarhei Tsikhanovsky spend at SHIZA?

- I will not give exact numbers about days with children, it is difficult to calculate.

It is much less than we would like.

I see how I can't do homework with my children, I can't play with them, I can't go to a cafe somewhere.

They understand that their mother is busy with more important things.

They are sad.

But from time to time I see them and try to spend more time with them.

But they miss their dad more.

The last term that Siarhey spent at SHIZA was more than two months.

From August 19 to the end of October.

He is at SHIZA, and I have a feeling that I am also with him.

When the day ends, you think, here is another day, you are in business, in some kind of race, and these times are very difficult for him.

Of course, you jump from Sergei right away to other police prisoners, some of whom have been in SHIZA for several months in a row, and this sadness is always with me.

You won't get anywhere from him.

weekend?

There are almost no such weekends.

If I'm at home on a day off, it's hard to call it a day off.

As women joke, I can relax as I want — I want to clean, I want to wash clothes.

But even on weekends, thoughts with Sergei, with people, you still read the news, there they were put in SHIZA, there they are beaten, there they are tortured.

And it cannot be called a vacation in any way.

You go through everything together with those who are now behind bars.

"In my New Year's address, I plan to appeal not only to supporters of change, but also to those who are indifferent to politics"

— You had a very strong New Year's address for the beginning of 2022, which you started with the words "I'm angry too" and in which there was a clear transition from darkness to light, from Russian to Belarusian.

What phrase, word, verb, noun or adjective will be key in your New Year's resolution for 2023?

- I will not say a specific word, but in this New Year's address I plan to appeal not only to supporters of change, but also to those who are indifferent to politics, who are not interested in what is happening in the country and what Tsikhanovskaya says in general.

I will say in my address that I would like every Belarusian to feel responsible for the future of our country, to understand what is really happening, because many people watch state television, read state newspapers and may not even fully understand what is in front of them. now our country.

"The invasion will change the course of our history for ten years, it will change the attitude towards Belarus in the whole world"

- I think that the word "war" will be heard in the New Year's address.

Russia's war against Ukraine, in which Lukashenko made Belarus a co-aggressor.

The worst thing that happened in 2022.

There are various forecasts for 2023, and one of the most catastrophic is that Lukashenka will send Belarusian troops to Ukraine.

Another prediction is that Ukraine is winning this war, and this gives chances and opportunities for the liberation of Belarus from the dictatorship.

What are you, your headquarters, cabinet, democratic forces preparing, planning in case of various scenarios - from the worst to the best?

- Of course, next year I hope for Ukraine's victory in this war, the withdrawal of Russian troops from Belarus and the beginning of negotiations on how our entire region will build a new security system.

We are working to make the solution of the internal crisis in Belarus a part of this dialogue.

We want to achieve the release of people from prisons, change of the political system.

But we also understand that the reality may turn out to be completely different.

Lukashenko can send troops to Ukraine and then the bombings will start in response.

And the fact that in 2022 Belarusians were happy that "bombs are not falling on our heads" may change.

Today I read the news about the fact that a rocket fell on the territory of Belarus.

It is not yet clear what kind of rocket it is, whose rocket it is, but in any case, we must understand that this is the result of Lukashenka's actions, he dragged our country into the war.

And in case Belarusian troops enter the war, we, Belarusians, will need strong efforts to save our nation, our country.

And the efforts are much greater than even now.

Together with the Cabinet, we are already developing scenarios of possible actions in the event of the entry of troops, and scenarios of how to lead Belarus to the transition period.

But we cannot wait for the moment when Lukashenka's troops will cross the border with Ukraine.

Our common task now (I'm talking about all Belarusians) is to make sure that such an invasion does not happen at all.

I am asking you.

If you have relatives or friends in the military, talk to them, explain why you cannot obey the criminal orders of the regime.

Help loved ones to avoid the draft, not to receive these drafts.

Now the probability that an invasion will happen is very high, but that does not mean that it does not need to be resisted.

We must understand that the invasion will change the course of our history, our country, for decades.

It will change the attitude towards Belarus in the whole world.

Most importantly, it will mean that not only a crisis, but a real war will come to every home in Belarus.

Of course, if the regime brings the situation to this, I, the cabinet, and the democratic forces will be with the Belarusians.

Valery Sakhaszyk's defense experience, Kovalevsky's and Latushka's diplomatic experience, each representative's experience will help us work on all fronts.

But only our work is not enough.

It will take a lot of strength and energy from all the initiatives, from all the media, from the democratic community, from every Belarusian.

We will have to work much harder than now.

We seem to be working so hard already, but it will be a very difficult time when this happens.

"Alina Kovshik proposed to make 2023 the year of the Belarusian language and national revival.

I agree with this approach"

- A few short questions.

The most important event in 2022?

- War.

This is a bad event.

And the good one - Nobel to Ales Bialiatskyi.

- The fact that Belarusians began to be perceived as co-aggressors.

It took a lot of effort to convince us that this is not the case.

Until February 2022, Belarusians were heroes fighting for their state, and after February, unexpectedly for us, we became aggressors.

It was very difficult to convince, difficult to talk.

If politicians more or less understood the situation in Belarus, separated the Belarusian regime from the Belarusian people, then ordinary people in every country heard that Belarus and Russia entered the war, and they influenced the emotional decisions made by politicians with their thoughts.

- It is impossible to single out three people, because there are many more of them.

For me personally, it is Siarhei Tsikhanovsky.

I admire how he holds on, what letters he writes to his children and his mother, how he finds the strength to continue the fight.

All those who continue to do something, who sacrifice their freedom, they are all heroes.

They can be listed by name.

This year, many Belarusians demonstrated a kind of heroism in various situations.

Deceased volunteers, such as Volat and his mother, Brest or Vasil Parfyankov.

Our railway partisans, such as Dmitri Ravich, Dzianis Dikun and Oleg Mauchanov, Vital Melnik, who was shot in the knees.

Their courage was discussed by the whole world.

The girl Varvara from the Czech Republic, who handed over the drone to Belarusian volunteers, was bought with the collected money.

Our Olga Garbunova, who served time in terrible conditions, but got out and did not give up.

Now she has joined the cabinet,

- Everything is simple here.

Lukashenko and Putin.

- I hope that we will somehow manage to prevent Belarus from fully entering the war.

We will work to secure the release of political prisoners.

This is our common goal.

So that Belarusians inside the country and Belarusians who left should not lose contact with each other.

I will do everything possible to make the topic of Belarus heard from the highest podiums, at international forums, so that the world knows how Belarusians are fighting for their country.

I would like that in 2023 the desire to harass our own people would disappear.

After all, this year is not ending very happily.

We all feel that people have started blaming each other for the fact that we still haven't been able to achieve our goals.

I noticed that after the death of Oleg Gulak, there were a lot of warm, kind words addressed to him on social networks.

Oleg definitely deserves these words.

And then I thought that we need to learn to praise the living as well, as we praise those we have lost, who can no longer do anything.

Alina Kovshik proposed to make 2023 the year of the Belarusian language and national revival.

I agree with this approach.

Even my children, Russian-speaking children, are now more in the environment of Belarusian-speaking children, and they ask: Mom, why didn't we learn Belarusian earlier?

I don't have an answer to this question, because I raised them that way, being a Russian speaker myself.

And that's why more attention should be paid to this issue.

We need more Belarusian art, more Belarusian schools, books, translations, more movies, cartoons.

When I say "should", I mean that at the political level we should support such projects more.

We need to put into people's heads that we need to value and appreciate our own.

• Anna Sous

  Journalist of Radio Svaboda

  Editor of the "Only women" community on Facebook 

  sousa@rferl.org

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