Former flautist Maria Kolesnikova has been in jail in Belarus for four years, but her friends and family haven’t heard from her since early 2023.
Four years ago one of Belarus’ leading opposition figures, Maria Kalesnikava, was detained in the street by police in the country’s capital of Minsk and taken to the Ukrainian border amidst country-wide protests.
After being told authorities wanted to deport her to Ukraine Kalesnikava tore up her papers — a decision that would land her in Belarusian prison with an eleven-year sentence.
Kalesnikava’s family, including her sister Tatsiana Khomich, could initially communicate with her via video call. This contact became letters, which began to decrease until drying up completely in February 2023.
What they know about Kalesnikava, published in a report by Amnesty International, is that her health has rapidly deteriorated since her detention — with the activist weighing only 45 kilos.
Kalesnikava’s sister Tatsiana Khomich is determined to find news about her sister and keep her political legacy alive amidst her fears about her sister’s fate.
From music to politics
A musician, Kalesnikava lived in Germany for 13 years studying Music in Stuttgart and working as a flute teacher. Her sister told Euronews she always had an interest in politics.
From 2015, she travelled back to her native Belarus regularly, initially only to organise cultural projects and musical performances when she brought artists from Germany, Poland, and Lithuania with her.
“She brought contemporary music with her, something that didn’t exist in Belarus until then. It’s simply still not taught in music schools there,” Khomich said.
Kalesnikava’s involvement in politics flourished after she met banker Viktor Babaryka in 2018, who provided her with an event space within which to organise cultural events.
In 2020, Babaryka decided to run for the presidential elections in Belarus with Kalesnikava’s support. Shortly afterward, he was arrested on suspicion of money laundering.
A new opposition figure
Kalesnikava continued his work, joining forces with opposition activists Veronika Zepkalo and Svetlana Tikhanovskaya to campaign for fair elections in Belarus. Whilst her colleagues faced prosecution and fled the country, Kalesnikava stayed.
Her name and face began to crop up in Western media: a new opposition figure with short platinum blonde hair and bright red lipstick, marching defiantly against the falsification of the elections in Belarus.
Whenever she had her photo taken she formed a heart with her hands and smiled cheekily at the cameras.
“Masha is a very open person,” her sister said. “She is authentic, she knows how to convey her inner world to the outside world.”
“She is friendly, honest, and courageous, she has such a strong sense of justice,” Khomich added.
Belarusians started to take note of Kalesnikava’s open attitude and commitment to democratic principles, standing in stark contrast to Belarusian authorities.
Lukashenko’s electoral victory in 2020 sparked protests throughout Belarus, with over 100,000 people taking to the streets to demand free and fair elections.
Plain-clothed security officers cracked down on the demonstrations, using batons, water canons, and tear gas to silence dissenters. The protests extended over ten months.
Kalesnikava remained in Belarus, even as authorities started to impose prison sentences on opposition figures in an effort to further crack down on dissent.
“She always said she wouldn’t leave because her friends and colleagues were already in prison,” Khomich said, adding that in 2020 many in Belarus felt that it was still possible for alternative candidates to have a chance at winning elections in the country.
Isolated
Khomich told Euronews that she believes the sudden loss of contact with her sister was purposeful.
“There is a systematic approach to the most famous political prisoners to isolate them, to make them think that everyone has abandoned them, to put psychological pressure on them in this way, to break them psychologically,” Khomich said.
Khomich believes that conditions for political prisoners in Belarus, particularly in women’s prisons, have deteriorated since Kalesnikava was put behind bars.
Women are often punished through solitary confinement, kept in so-called isolation cells.
Activist and former prisoner Natallia Hersche, who was arrested during the 2020 protests in Minsk, described the isolation cell as a room that is just two metres wide and a few steps long. It is so cold in the cell that the prisoners have to move every ten to 15 minutes to keep warm.
Khomich says she knows her sister’s condition is getting worse by the day, with other released prisoners reporting that Kalesnikava has lost weight after undergoing emergency surgery behind bars.
In prison, the inmates have no fridge or possibility of cooking a warm meal for themselves.
“There’s a kind of kettle there that you can maybe use to make porridge, or at best tea. That’s all. From what I hear, Masha is slowly dying there.”
Kalesnikava has been in prison for four years now. Serious health problems occur after just three years in prison, says Russian opposition activist Ilya Yashin, who was released from a Russian prison during the most recent prisoner exchange with Russia. He is also concerned about Kalesnikava’s condition.
Belarus absent from prisoner exchange
Khomich waited until the last moment when prisoners were released in a landmark prisoner exchange between the West and Russia, however, none of the prisoners released were from Belarus.
Alongside the USA, Germany played a decisive role in the most recent prisoner exchange with Russia. “I had expected it to be Germany. And the fact that Masha had lived there for almost 13 years would be an important factor, I thought,” Khomich said.
“In recent years, I have been negotiating with lawyers for the release of Belarusian political prisoners. And I have heard time and again that the West’s position is that it is not prepared to negotiate with Lukashenko. You don’t negotiate with dictators and terrorists, they said.”
“But here, too, we have seen that these negotiations were possible during the exchange between the West and Russia. The reality is […] you can’t help but talk to them,” Khomich added.
Lukashenko recently pardoned 78 political prisoners, which Khomich says could be the first indication he could be open to potential negotiations.
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