Democracy has been a slow-moving phenomenon in the ex-USSR states. The Socialist giant disintegrated in 1992, leaving 15 new nations to sustain themselves. While many of them opted for Soviet-style socialist-authoritarian governments at the time of their birth. Most of them eventually choose the path of democracy, though a flawed one. Out of the 15, only Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia have had a peaceful transition from authoritarianism to democracy, others have had a bumpy journey. Likes of Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Belarus have authoritarianism camouflaged as democracy. They hold elections on a regular basis, but the citizens don’t really have a choice, with the country's leaders jailing, killing, and silencing any opposition or dissent in the country. And for one of these ex-Soviet states, Belarus, this transition to full-fledged democracy has been so hard that this East European nation has now been called ‘Europe’s last dictatorship.’
Belarus has been ruled by one man since its inception. Alexander Lukashenko has been the President of Belarus since 1994. The authoritarian leader has managed to stay in power for so long because of his ability to silence any opposition to his rule. Many have opposed Lukashenko in the past. But they have either died under suspicious circumstances, jailed for life or have fled the country. For 25 years, Alexander Lukashenko has never worried about losing an election or been thrown out of power. But, all that changed in 2020.
Belarusian Presidential election 2020 was expected to be another one of those rigged elections, with Lukashenko easing to power without any opposition. But that changed when a trio of women forged a formidable challenge to this dictator, in hope of a better Belarus. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, Veronika Tsepkalo, and Maria Kolesnikova are the three women who mounted an opposition to the iron-clad rule of Alexander Lukashenko in Belarus.
The leader amongst the three is Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who was the opposition Presidential candidate in the 2020 election. Helping her is Veronika Tsepkalo and Maria Kolesnikova. What binds these three women together is unique. All three of them are related to one or the other opposition leader of Lukashenko in the 2020 election. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya is the wife of activist and popular blogger Sergei Tikhanovskaya, who was one of the candidates in the 2020 election until his arrest in May. Svetlana decided to run in her husband’s place. Veronika Tsepkalo is married to Valery Tsepkalo, another contender in the 2020 elections. Valery Tsepkalo ran Lukashenko’s first presidential campaign in 1994, and took up key positions in his administration over the years. But when he tried to file his candidacy in the 2020 election, he was denied his candidature by the government. He subsequently left the country with his kids, fearing for life and health. His wife, Veronika, stayed back in Belarus and joined Svetlana Tikhanovskaya in her effort to oust Lukashenko. Maria Kolesnikova was the campaign manager of another 2020 candidate Viktar Babaryka, who was also denied his candidature and was arrested in June 2020. Kolesnikova, then, joined Tsepkalo and Tikhanovskaya in their bid to bring down Alexander Lukashenko.
The trio held rallies throughout Belarus, spreading the message of change, hope, and democracy. Their campaign captured the imagination of Belarusians longing for a positive change in the country. What made this campaign even more appealing was the background of these three women. All of them have been the victims of Lukashenko’s corruption and had experienced personal tragedies due to Lukashenko. The President’s handling of the Covid pandemic and an economy in recession all fueled the trio’s campaign. And, it finally looked like change is just around the corner in Europe’s last dictatorship. But when the results of the election started to trickle in, it became clear that Alexander Lukashenko had cruised to his sixth term in office. The European watchdogs sounded the alarms of a fraudulent election and alleged that this election, which gave Lukashenko a landslide win, was rigged. After the result was certified by the Central Election Commission (CEC), Tikhanovskaya was escorted to neighboring Lithuania by the police. Maria Kolesnikova was kidnapped by masked men and was taken to the Ukrainian border, but she tore up her passport and refused to live in exile. She was then arrested by the authorities on the charges of an attempt to seize power. Veronika Tsepkalo urged other European nations to recognize Tikhanovskaya as the legitimate leader of Belarus. She too left the country and is in Poland with her family.
For their valiant efforts to oust a dictator Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, Veronika Tsepkalo, and Maria Kolesnikova were nominated by a Norwegian MP for the Nobel Peace Prize. While these three women may have failed to dislodge Lukashenko, they did ignite a fire in the bellies of Belarusian to fight for democracy and a bright future.
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