In one year's time, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya went from being a full-time mother and housewife to becoming a symbol of democracy in Belarus; a stateswoman who met with half the leaders of Europe and was featured on Bloomberg's list of 50 people who defined the year.
Tikhanovskaya never intended to go into politics. Her husband, Sergei Tikhanovsky, a pro-democracy activist known primarily for his work against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, has been arrested and is being held in prison without trial.
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Up until a year ago, very few Belarusians were interested or involved in politics, as the decades-long tenure of Lukashenko made it seem that the public had no say in the political system.
But along came the coronavirus pandemic that brought the government's disregard towards the lives of its citizens to the surface, and the status quo was no longer.
In May 2020, Sergei, who had already gained immense popularity due to his work as a blogger, announced his intention of running for the 2020 presidential election.
He was arrested two days later under the pretext of assaulting a police officer. Svetlana stepped in. She registered as a candidate, collected all the necessary signatures, and, to her own surprise, qualified as a presidential contender. The rest is history. According to polls, she garnered at least 60% of the votes. There are no official records available as they had been destroyed.
Belarus' Central Election Commission declared Lukashenko president, igniting nationwide protests that resulted in the arrest and incarceration of more than 32,000 people.
The day after the election, Tikhanovskaya was summoned by the commission and was ambushed by two senior KGB officials. She was given a choice: leave Belarus, or you will go to prison, and your children will be thrown in an orphanage. Tikhanovskaya, whose children were already safe in Lithuania, had no choice but to leave.
She set up headquarters in Vilnius where she continues her work against Lukashenko, calling on governments to impose sanctions on the regime, providing legal and financial assistance to Belarusians persecuted by the government, and fighting for the release of all political prisoners, including her husband.
One of Tikhanovskaya's most recent meetings at the headquarters was with Israeli Ambassador to Lithuania Yossi Levy. The two discussed the infamous meeting between Israeli Ambassador to Belarus Alex Goldman-Shayman and President Lukashenko, in which the ambassador presented his credentials to the president.
Lukashenko and Goldman-Shayman shook hands, smiled, and posed for photographs. In the days to follow, Goldman-Shayman was flamed for shaking hands with a "tyrant" and the official Facebook page of the Israeli Embassy in Belarus was flooded with angry comments.
Levy tried to explain his colleague's actions in Minsk and even posed for a photo with Tikhanovskaya standing in front of the flag associated with the protests.
Speaking with Israel Hayom, Tikhanovskaya shared details about the meeting.
"I do not know if the ambassador came to apologize or provide justification. Perhaps the government in Israel did not realize the severity of the crisis in Belarus, so they approached the issue methodically: it was time to appoint a new ambassador in Minsk, so that is what they did."
Q: Did you expect more from Israel?
"More could have been done, of course. Even though the Israeli Ambassador to Minsk was not the only one who presented his credentials that day, we did not expect such a move from Israel, as it is a friendly nation, and many Israelis support Belarusians. On the other hand, we were glad to find out that many in Israel condemned the ambassador's actions.
"I don't think anyone meant to hurt the Belarusian people by acknowledging Lukashenko. The past cannot be changed, but what the ambassador in Minsk can do in the future is support the Belarusian people."
The Foreign Ministry explained that the appointment of the new ambassador stemmed from the consideration of the needs of the Jewish communities in Belarus. However, some argued that such a move might backfire and do more harm than good for the local Jewish community.
Q: Has the presentation of credentials affected the lives of Jews in Belarus?
"Ambassador Levy said that there were some inappropriate comments against Jews on social media, but I do not think that the incident will significantly alter the attitude towards Jews in Belarus," Tikhanovskaya said.
"They cannot be held accountable for the actions of the Israeli government. Besides, despite writing some harsh comments in the heat of the moment, Belarusians are good-hearted people, and we have always had a good relationship with Israel."
Q: The protests started more than 130 days ago, and Lukashenko doesn't budge. What do you think will bring about a change?
"I think that applying economic and political pressure on the government will force its representatives to join the negotiations, which should also include leaders of neighboring countries. These negotiations, however, can only take place after all political prisoners have been released. Negotiations can only begin if the government admits their mistakes, and Lukashenko and his regime have proved that they do not know how to do that."
Q: Has the government expressed any willingness to negotiate?
"No. In fact, just recently, Lukashenko expressed readiness to fight until the "last standing riot policeman." How can he care more about himself than the people? The only thing that will make Lukahensko step down is political and economic pressure."
Q: Is such pressure being applied?
"Not at the moment, no. We want more people to be included in the sanctions and for the sanctions themselves to be accepted more quickly. We wish that every country in the world would send a clear message to anyone cooperating with the regime, that what they are doing is unacceptable, that torture has no place in the 21st century and that there's a line beyond which no business or geopolitical interest justifies cooperation.
"Stop funding Lukashenko and his supporters. Stop renewing business agreements that support him financially. Ideally, the bank accounts of Lukashenko and his associates should be frozen. Perhaps now that Joe Biden will be president, we can unite and expand our efforts.
"In Belarus, the pressure does not subside. People continue to go out to protests knowing full well that they might not return home that night. They can't continue living pretending nothing happened. Perhaps we will need to protest longer than we originally hoped would be necessary, but we didn't expect such cruel measures on the government's part. It only reconfirms that we are on the right path."
Q: How much longer do you think Lukashenko will be in power?
"The regime can crumble at any moment. I can't say precisely as there are many factors to keep in mind. We do everything in our power to accelerate the process. We fight for it every week, every day, every hour.
"Perhaps the regime will survive until the spring. Later than that is highly unlikely as several sanctions will come into effect soon, and their impact will be significant."
Q: Will you run in the next presidential election?
"I do not intend to, no. I explained that already in the previous election. I don't think of myself as a politician. I have gained a lot of experience during this time, and I am still contemplating how to use it best."
The night before her interview with Israel Hayom, Tikhanovskaya and her team returned from an overnight trip to Brussels, where she met with the European Union Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Belgian prime minister and attended the 2020 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. On her way to Brussels, she stopped in Berlin, where she met with the president of Germany and officials in the German parliament. This on top of the meetings she had in Madrid with the Spanish prime minister and foreign minister earlier in the week.
Q: Some days you have fifteen events to attend. Where do you get the energy for this?
"The truth is that there's not much energy left as it is clear that I would like a peaceful life. But I remind myself why I do all of this, and I regain my strength. I have no right to give up. I have to do my best to advance the Belarusian cause.
I sometimes cry when things get tough, but then I remind myself that there are people being held in prison whose lot is a hundred times harder than mine, and I dare not give up."
Q: Does your busy schedule leave you time to spend with your children?
"This is a painful subject for me. Children need to have a normal childhood and a mother who has time to play with them and help them with their homework. The weekend is when people in Belarus go out to protest, and I have to monitor the news for any developments. I play with my children with one eye glued to the screen.
Q: How do you spend time with your children?
"We mostly stay at home as everything is closed because of the coronavirus. With my daughter, I play dolls. With my son, who is already ten years old, I read books and have discussions. I try my best to be a good mother for them. Their childhood shouldn't be affected because of events they can't even understand yet.
Q: Do the children ask about their father?
"My daughter asks me every night when daddy is going to come home. She believes he is on a business trip far away, where he cannot be reached by phone. Every once in a while, my children receive presents "from their dad." And still, she sometimes wakes up in the middle of the night asking for her father.
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"Just recently, she told me: "Mom, dad has been away for such a long time. Are you sure he isn't dead?" That sent shivers down my spine. I told her of course not, that dad is just far away, earning money so that he can buy all of them presents.
"What else could I have told her? She is also at that age when children have questions about the concept of death, so she has also asked me what will happen after I die. Her questions motivate me to work even harder to advance our cause."
Q: And your son?
"He understands the situation better. He knows where his dad is but doesn't ask about it much. He understands that talking about it is painful for me. It's easier for a 10-year old to distract himself with other activities. For now, he is calm."
Q: You have visited Israeli before, right?
"Yes. My husband and I visited Egypt and stopped in Israel on our way there. I loved it there, although the time we spent there was too short. I haven't had the chance to experience the culture fully.
"Sergei spent a lot more time in Israel due to his work filming tourist attractions. He spoke about the people and the food fondly. Sergei loves Israel very much. He returned from Israel inspired.
"As part of our activism work, we are building new international relations with other countries, including Israel. Belarus and its desire for freedom are very important to us. Together we will win."
