Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya

Opposition Leader

Belarus

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is a politician and activist. She was the main opposition candidate in the 2020 presidential election, and some local commissions and independent polls declared her the winner. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya decided to run shortly after her husband was imprisoned and prevented from candidacy. Her political goals are freedom for political prisoners and new elections, which should take place in democratic conditions. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya managed to organize a pre-election event in Minsk, which was attended by about 63,000 people. It was the largest protest rally against President Lukashenko in ten years. Prior to joining politics, she worked as a teacher, translator and interpreter for English and German.