Five Belarusian Opposition Figures: Where They Are, What Fates They Face
udf.byUsing gestures that would later become iconic opposition symbols, Svatlana Tsikhanouskaya clenches her fist, Maryya Kalesnikava makes a heart sign, and Veranika Tsapkala signals V for victory while campaigning ahead of Belarus's disputed presidential election in 2020. Tens of thousands of people in Belarus have been swept up in the crackdown launched by Alyaksandr Lukashenka after he was declared winner of a presidential election last August that much of Belarus rejected as rigged.
His main challenger, Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, said she was forced to leave Belarus for Lithuania a day after the August 9 poll amid threats to herself and her family.