In the two years since the last presidential elections, first in Belarus and then abroad, representatives of the Belarusian opposition have created many political structures. They all call the creation of a democratic Belarus their main objective, but for ordinary Belarusians it is not always clear who is doing what. In addition, their representatives often have different views and cannot always find a common language among themselves.

There may soon be even more opposition structures – from 8 to 9 August, a “New Belarus” conference will be held in Vilnius, where it is planned to summarize what has been done over the past two years and adjust the strategy. What are the different structures of the Belarusian opposition now – DW understood.

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and her office: leader of the nation or “Queen Elizabeth”?

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya remains the main figure in the Belarusian opposition. It was for her that Belarusians voted in the 2020 elections, which gives her a unique mandate to represent the citizens of Belarus.

For a long time, Tikhanovskaya refused to call himself president or leader of the nation. Only when Russia started a war against Ukraine, Tikhanovskaya declared himself representative of the Belarusian people and announced the creation of a transitional cabinet as a national authority. But after 5 months, there are no details about the cabinet – whether it will be created is unknown.

Tikhanovskaya’s activities are visible in the international arena. She meets with high-ranking Western politicians and it is largely thanks to her that the issue of Belarus remains on the world agenda. Tikhanovskaya is helping Belarusians who left and were repressed by agreeing to allocate funds to support the democracy movement. However, scandals arise around the funding – some activists complain that the process is not transparent, and Svetlana, for her part, says she is not responsible for distributing the funds.

Other representatives of democratic forces long recognized Tikhanovskaya’s authority and refrained from direct criticism. However, now the pressure on Svetlana has increased. For example, at the Forum of Democratic Forces, which was held recently in Berlin, former businessman Vadim Prokopyev suggested making her the “Queen Elizabeth” by naming “Prime Minister Churchill” next to her. Who they should become, the oppositionist did not specify.

What is the Opposition Coordinating Council doing now?

Initially, the Coordinating Council (CC) was to become the main body of the Belarusian opposition. On August 14, 2020, Tikhanovskaya announced its creation and announced that its main task is the peaceful transfer of power in the country and negotiations with the regime. The Presidium of the Constitutional Court included seven people: Nobel Prize winner Svetlana Aleksievich, lawyer Lilia Vlasova, chairman of the MTZ strike committee Sergei Dylevsky, lawyer Maxim Znak, politician Olga Kovalkova, head office coordinator Viktor Babariko Maria Kolesnikova and former diplomat Pavel Latushko.

Maksim Znak and Maria Kolesnikova, who entered the Constitutional Court, were sentenced to 10 and 11 years respectively.

Members of the Presidium of the Constitutional Court could often be seen at mass rallies in Belarus, until some of them were arrested (Maxim Znak and Maria Kolesnikova received 10 and 11 years in prison, respectively), while others were forced to leave the country. Now, the work of the Constitutional Court is not as noticeable as the activities of other democratic forces, but publicly the body almost always joins the initiatives of Tikhanovskaya’s cabinet. For example, the Constitutional Court supported the general strategy of the democratic forces in the referendum on the Constitution in February 2022.

And while the Constitutional Court cannot do any work to ensure the transit of powers under current conditions, the Council continues to function. As the press office said, there are programs on culture, business, etc. “The Majority Movement also works. More than 21,000 people write appeals to deputies, sign petitions, block propaganda channels, help with donations, etc.” ensure KS.

NAU Pavel Latushko and the scandal in the opposition

Another prominent oppositionist, former diplomat and former director of the Kupala Theater, Pavel Latushko, first joined the Presidium of the Constitutional Court and then decided to create his own structure. Thus, in October 2020, the People’s Anti-Crisis Administration (NAU) appeared in Warsaw. It has been stated that its objectives are to ensure the peaceful fulfillment of the functions of an illegitimate government and the stabilization of the country’s governance system after the transfer of power to the people. The NAU has several representatives on various matters, its powers are expected to end on the day the new president of Belarus takes office.

As DW was informed in the NAU press service, today the structure is exerting pressure in three areas: international isolation, economic sanctions and bringing Lukashenka and his officials to justice for crimes against Belarusians and complicity in the war in Ukraine. In addition, the organization is working on the creation of the National Liberation Movement.

Pavel Latushko and Sviatlana Tikhanovskaya publicly almost always tried to coordinate their actions. So the NAU supported the strategy in a referendum in February of this year, and Latushko himself sided with it during Tikhanovskaya’s 2022 New Year’s speech.

Pavel Latushko

Recently, however, Pavel Latushko has launched strong criticisms of Tikhanovskaya’s cabinet. In an interview with Euroradio, he said that the structures “have always been divided, but they pretended to be together”. He spoke of several internal problems in communicating with the office, which does not invite Latushko to meetings with Western politicians.

The scandal reached the point where Latushko posted on his Facebook a screenshot of messages from blogger Anton Motolko, associated with the Tikhanovskaya team, where he insulted the head of the NAU. Later, the blogger declared that he had nothing to do with Tikhanovskaya’s office.

Valery Tsepkalo and the forum where Tikhanovskaya is criticized

Among Svetlana Tikhanovskaya’s critics, one can highlight former head of High-Tech Park Valery Tsepkalo, who wanted to participate in the 2020 elections, but was not registered as a candidate. The oppositionist left the country in July 2020, after which his wife Veronika continued the fight as part of a triune seat, but also had to leave on the eve of the elections.

In August 2020, Tsepkalo announced the creation of the “Belarus of the Future” fund in Kyiv to help Belarusians who have become “victims of the criminal regime” (the fund’s website is now unavailable). So, for a long time, little was heard about the politician’s activities, and in January 2021, Tsepkalo announced the creation of the Belarusian Democratic Forum Internet platform, where Belarusians could discuss important issues. Then his press officer told DW that 700 users had registered on the platform.

Now the Belarusian Democratic Forum has been transformed into the Forum of Democratic Forces (the forum website has remained the same with new content), which the oppositionist has already held twice – in Warsaw and Berlin. It is curious that neither Pavel Latushko nor Svetlana Tikhanovskaya were present on the forums, and the main topic of discussion was the criticism of Tikhanovskaya’s office.