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Maria Kalesnikava. Photo by 小懈谢褜薪褘械 袧芯胁芯褋褌懈: GomelTube –

Top 10 Remarquable facts about Maria Kalesnikava

The United States condemns the politically motivated conviction and shameful sentencing today of Belarusian opposition figures Maria Kalesnikava and Maksim Znak. Ms. Kalesnikava, a recipient of this year鈥檚 International Women of Courage Award, was given 11 years in prison for her courageous public support for candidates who challenged the 26-year rule of Alyaksandr Lukashenka.

1. Maria Aleksandrovna Kalesnikava is a Belarusian professional flutist and political activist

Maria Kalesnikava. Photo unattributed –

Maria Aleksandrovna Kalesnikava, a Russian, is a Belarusian professional flutist and political activist. In 2020, she headed Viktor Babariko鈥檚 electoral campaign during the presidential elections of 2020 in Belarus.  

 Kalesnikava represented the united campaign of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, then she became a member of the Presidium of the Coordination Council formed during the 2020 Belarusian protests in opposition to the regime of Alexander Lukashenko. 

She is also a founder of the Razam political party.

2. Kalesnikova was kidnapped by unidentified law enforcement officers

First press conference of the Coordination Council of Belarus.  Photo unattributed –

Kalesnikova was kidnapped by unidentified law enforcement officers on September 7, 2020. Early in the morning of September 8, 2020, she was by force taken to the Ukraine country border.

Kalesnikova was intimidated and pressured to leave the country, but while being on neutral ground she got off the car from the rear window, tore her local passport to pieces, and went back on foot. On Belarusian territory, she was arrested immediately. On the next day, Maxim Znak, Kolesnikova鈥檚 attorney, was also detained.

3. Kalesnikava was recognized as a prisoner of conscience on 11 September 2020

A lady’s hands tied up. Photo by engin akyurt on

On 11 September 2020, Amnesty International recognized Kalesnikava as a prisoner of conscience. She was awarded the International Women of Courage Award in 2021.

On 6 September 2021, Kalesnikava was sentenced to 11 years in a penal colony for her political activity.

4. Kalesnikava was born in Minsk to a family of engineers

Maria Kalesnikova 2022-03-16 Esslingen-Plakat. Photo by C.Koltzenburg –

Kalesnikava was born on 24 April 1982 in Minsk to a family of engineers. She has one sibling, a sister named Tatsiana. According to Tatiana, their parents were deeply fond of music.

 They inspired interest in it in their daughters and in a certain way influenced Maria鈥檚 choice of profession. Maria studied in a music school, then graduated from the Belarusian State Academy of Music as a flutist and conductor.

5. Kalesnikava started teaching the flute at a private gymnasium school at the age of 17

Maria Kalesnikava. Photo unattributed –

At the age of 17, Kalesnikava started teaching the flute at a private gymnasium school in Minsk. She also played the flute at the National Academic Concert Orchestra of the Republic of Belarus under the direction of Mikhail Finberg. She played on tours across Italy, Poland, and Lithuania.

At the age of 25, she moved to Germany and enrolled at the State University of Music and Performing Arts in Stuttgart. She got two master’s degrees, one in Early Music, and another in Neue Musik in 2012.

6. Kalesnikava performed at concerts

A lady enjoying herself in a concert. Photo by Aditya Chinchure on

In the 2010s, Kalesnikava performed at concerts and was actively involved in organizing international cultural projects in Belarus and Germany, for instance, she was one of the creators of the 鈥楨clat鈥� music festival.

 Her other projects included 鈥楳usic and the Holocaust, the school program 鈥極rchestra of Robots, and a series of lectures under the title “Music Lessons for Adults”.

In 2017, Maria participated in one of the first TEDxNiamiha conferences in Belarus. She took part in the creation of the 鈥楢rtemp鈥� art community that hosted contemporary art events. In the same year, she became the art director of the 鈥極K16鈥� culture center in Minsk.

7. Kalesnikava became the head of Viktar Babaryka’s presidential campaign 

Rally in support of Sviatlana Tsikhano怒skaya and the joint campaign headquarters. 30 July 2020, Minsk, Belarus. Photo by Homoatrox –

In May 2020, Kalesnikava became the head of Viktar Babaryka’s presidential campaign, who was Alexander Lukashenko’s greatest independent competitor in the 2020 Belarusian presidential election.

When Babaryka was refused registration and detained, on July 16, 2020, Kalesnikova and representatives of two other independent candidates鈥� campaigns – Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya 鈥� (wife of Sergei Tikhanovsky ) and Veronika Tsepkalo (wife of Valery Tsepkalo) 鈥� announced the creation of triple alliance.

 Tsikhanouskaya became their mutual candidate, she gained wide support across the country. When Lukashenko declared himself a winner with 80,1% of the votes, the opposition refused to acknowledge the results and accused Lukashenko of massive falsifications.

USA, Great Britain, Canada, and 8 EU countries refused to acknowledge the election鈥檚 results as legitimate. The street protests and meetings emerged across the country, demanding re-election and Lukashenko鈥檚 dismissal., brutally put down by law enforcement^.

8. Kalesnikava always emphasized that she wasn鈥檛 any kind of 鈥榩rotest leader鈥�

Rally in support of Sviatlana Tsikhano怒skaya and the joint campaign headquarters. 30 July 2020, Minsk, Belarus. Photo by Homoatrox –

Kalesnikava in her interviews always emphasized that she wasn鈥檛 any kind of 鈥榩rotest leader鈥� and never took part in the meetings’ organization. At that time Belarusian opposition pursued the idea that all citizens were protest leaders and everyone was responsible for his country鈥檚 future.

 She visited protest meetings as a private person, via mass media she asked both citizens and law enforcement to preserve peace. On August 18, 2020, Kalesnikava joined the 7-member presidium of the Coordination Council. 

On August 19, she was selected as one of the main board members. By mid-August Tikhanovskaya and Tsepkalo were forced by authorities to leave the country.

9. Kalesnikova stated to the media that she by no means would leave Belarus

Maria Kalesnikava. Photo by 小懈谢褜薪褘械 袧芯胁芯褋褌懈: GomelTube –

 Meanwhile, Kalesnikova stated to the media that she by no means would leave Belarus because she felt it was deeply personal not to flee while her colleagues and friends were jailed under unlawful charges.

On August 31, 2020, Kalesnikova announced the start of a new political party “Razam” that she intended to make a democratic tool to protect human rights in the country.

10. Kalesnikava was kidnapped in the center of Minsk

A lady who appears to have been kidnapped. Photo by James Kovin on

On September 7, 2020, Belarusian media published the news that Kalesnikava was kidnapped in the center of Minsk. Her friends and colleagues could not reach her by phone.

 Later, witnesses stated that a woman was forcibly put into a black minivan by some unknown men in civilian clothes with covered faces.

 On the morning of September 8, 2020, the news was published that the authorities tried to deport Maria against her will, and she was taken to the Alexandrovka border crossing with Ukraine. Later, Anton Gerashenko, Ukraine鈥檚 Deputy Home Minister, explained that 鈥榠t was deportation by force, against her will.

On 6 September 2021, Kalesnikava was sentenced to 11 years in prison. Both she and Znak refused to request pardon because they believed they were innocent. They planned to appeal to a higher court.

In a written interview, Kalesnikava told the media that in jail she was offered many times to make a movie “Protasevich- like” with confessions and to admit guilt for her actions. In her first interview after the sentence, given by phone to BBC journalist Sara Rainsford, Kolesnikova complained that in prison 鈥榚veryone smokes everywhere, and the pro