From the DW:
“Svetlana Tikhanovskaya: The
teacher challenging Lukashenko — Europe's last dictator”
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, a
teacher, is the greatest challenge yet to the reign of Alexander Lukashenko,
who vies for a sixth term as Belarus' president. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has had
a staggering and unprecedented rise. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya does not describe
herself as a politician. Indeed, she says she just wants her family back and to
be able to cook for them. Yet, for now, she is running for election, and
observers consider the 37-year-old stay-at-home parent, a teacher and
interpreter by profession, perhaps the greatest challenge yet to the reign of
President Alexander Lukashenko, who is seeking a sixth term on Sunday. Tikhanovskaya
ended up in this position almost by chance. It was initially her husband, the
41-year-old video blogger Sergei Tikhanovsky, who wanted to challenge the
president. However, he was arrested before the election campaign even kicked
off and charged with taking part in an unauthorized demonstration at the
beginning of the year. When Tikhanovsky was formally disqualified, Tikhanovskaya
decided to run instead. And, surprisingly, she was able to collect the 100,000
required signatures and made the ballot. After her husband was released, he ran
her campaign for a few days before being arrested again. He is currently in
detention and accused of violence against the police. His supporters say that
he was provoked.
An inauspicious start Tikhanovskaya, who is from a small
southwestern town, studied foreign languages before going on to work as a
translator in Gomel, the second-biggest city in Belarus. This is where she met
her husband, with whom she has two children. She stopped working to look after
her family. Though she says she was never interested in politics, she says that
she learned a lot about her country and its inhabitants traveling with her
husband. He had to travel a lot for a video blog that he launched on YouTube at
the beginning of 2019. It's the first time that such an outsider has taken part
in the authoritarian country's electoral process. It's almost as if an amateur
runner were suddenly in a position to win the Olympics. However, in this case,
Tikhanovskaya could be excluded at any time. So far, however, she is still in
the race and the preparations have gone so well that she is considered one of
the favorites. Her election campaign team was boosted by support from two
political heavyweights: the former banker Viktor Babariko and the former
diplomat Valery Tsepkalo, who were also barred from running. Tens of thousands
of people have turned up to Tikhanovskaya's rallies — breaking records in a
country where people have long been discouraged from taking part in politics
and tend to be either dispassionate or scared. Tikhanovskaya's election program
is rudimentary, but she has a few clear goals: Belarusian independence and the
release of all political prisoners, including her husband. If she wins, she has
pledged to hold free elections within six months later so that currently barred
opposition candidates can run and she can return to raising her family.
An unusual approach It is clear that Tikhanovskaya is an
unusual candidate with an unusual approach to the task at hand. At the
beginning she came across as unsure, but honest and this went down well. The
more used to her role she became, the more her self-confidence grew. She was
not afraid of saying that she did not have all the answers and admitted that
she was no expert regarding foreign policy or economic reform. Tikhanovskaya
has avoided controversial subjects, but she has not allowed the president to
bully her with his frequent attacks. When he said that someone who had not
served in the army could not be head of state, she responded with the
suggestion that only mothers should be allowed to run. Though she refuses to be
intimidated, she did send her children abroad after an anonymous threat. The
campaign is a sign that Belarus is changing. Tikhanovskaya success has come as
a surprise to many in a country that has been under the president's control for
26 years. People want to see a new face at the top — and it almost doesn't
matter whose. At the moment, however, it looks like Lukashenko still has the
advantage. Once again, there will be no independent election observers. The
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe has not been invited.
^ I have tried to learn everything
I can about Tikanovskaya (from English Language and Russian Language places)
and think if she does win – a very big if – that she could help make Belarus a truly
modern and Western country. Lukashenko will most likely win – either fairly or
not – and will stay as the Belarussian President. One thing that is different
in this election is that Lukashenko has started to distance himself and his
country from Russia – including saying that there will never be a merger
between Russia and Belarus. Of course this about-face puts Belarus in the same
position as Ukraine was in in 2014 when Russia decided to invade, occupy and
annex Crimea and then start fighting in the Donbas - all because Ukraine wanted to move closer
to NATO, the EU and the West and Russia and Putin are paranoid and didn’t want
that to happen. It will be interesting to see what happens next for Belarus –
even if Lukashenko wins. Will Russia invade and annex Belarus? ^
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