Yauhen Afnagel: The Path To Victory Consists Of Several Stages

• 9.10.2025, 22:29

Change can happen very quickly.

Yauhen Afnagel is the coordinator of the civil campaign "European Belarus" and one of the founders of the legendary resistance movement "Zubr". He has been opposing Lukashenko's dictatorship for more than a quarter of a century, participating in all landmark actions and events up to the revolution of 2020. In May 2021, Yauhen Afnagel, along with other activists of "European Belarus," was sentenced to 7 years on charges of "preparation of mass riots. He spent almost five years in the colony and in Mahiliou Prison No. 4, passing through the SHIZO and PKT.

On September 11, 2025, Yauhen Afnagel was released and forcibly deported to Lithuania along with other former political prisoners.

In a conversation with a journalist of the website Charter97.org Eugene shared his story of the fight against the Lukashenko regime, as well as told about the stages of the road to victory and explained why Belarus is now passing one of the most important moments, beyond which a real breakthrough is possible.

- The press is writing about you now: a fighter, a flint, from whom "nothing will take away his trademark smile". What made you like that? What was the most important - even before prison, before the revolution?

- The press exaggerates a bit: I am a man like everyone else. And I certainly don't want to be like flint or any other stone. But unlike many, I can call myself happy for one simple reason: I have goals in life - an understanding of what I can and should do. They include, among other things, a free Belarus. And this is not some poetic image, but just my favorite country, in which I would like to live pleasantly and comfortably, which I would like to defend, which I will be proud of. And the realization of this goal is the merit of my parents and my friends.

It so happened that from childhood I knew the real history of Belarus, its symbols. I knew who Vseslav Charodei, Konstantin Ostrozhsky, Kastus Kalinovsky were. My parents spoke Belarusian and Russian equally well, and I heard them from childhood. They always expressed their position openly - even in the Soviet times. And then I had the same friends, together with whom we created "Zubr" and "European Belarus" and prepared 2020.

- As long as I remember you, you always fought the regime as an absolute evil - like a hero from a saga, even when it was not mainstream at all. How did you - a man who even before then had become for many a symbol of resistance - see 2020?

- It would seem that freedom is an abstract concept that cannot be touched. I remember the moment when everything changed. It so happened that I spent Election Day behind bars, serving an administrative arrest for one of the spring actions. On August 12, I, like hundreds of other detainees, was released early. I was returning to Minsk from Zhodzina prison together with Valentyn Trotsky. The first thing we saw in the city were hundreds of people with flags along Independence Avenue, in Uruchye and near the National Library. We saw smiles on their faces, light in their eyes. Minsk was unrecognizable - that gray, sullen, silent city, to which we were accustomed for decades of dictatorship, simply disappeared in a couple of days. It was at that moment that I felt freedom physically. It just hovered in the air, you could breathe it in, touch it, almost taste it.

This feeling was also felt later, at the action on August 16, when we with Pavel Yukhnevich led the column from Malinovka to the center of Minsk, meeting hundreds of people from dormitory districts at every new crossroads. Then there were Sunday actions, daily rallies on Independence Square, meetings in courtyards - and everywhere there was this feeling. It is impossible to describe or explain it rationally, but I think everyone who was on the streets then will understand me.

- After you "finished your coffee in peace", to the sound of the door being broken down, the arrest and prison began. What hardened you there? What vivid episodes are most memorable?

- I will tell you about one such episode that happened during our trial in Mogilev before the announcement of the verdict. It was May 25, 2021.

- It was cloudy outside the window, and the room was very cold, because the police officers specially turned on the air conditioner, which was blowing into the cage. In addition, we still didn't know if we would see our loved ones, if they would be allowed into the hall

A couple minutes before the judge came in, Pavel Severinets suggested that we all hold hands and either pray or just think about what binds and sustains us. At that moment, when we all held hands, something truly amazing happened.

The clouds outside the window parted - and the courtroom just lit up with bright, warm sunlight. Everyone present felt it. Each of us probably took it as a sign from above. And then, finally, we saw the relatives. So the day of the verdict became a real holiday.

And as for other bright episodes - there were actually a lot of them. It would probably take several hours to tell about them, because some events that kept our spirits up and lifted our spirits happened every day. These were letters of support - there were a lot of them before the ban on correspondence, and communication with people: in the colony with those with whom I was in the same unit, and in the indoor prison - with those with whom I was in the same cell, and confusions of the administration, which were also enough.

- It is clear that Lukashenka did not "release" anyone, but deported them from the country and tried to deprive them of citizenship. Nevertheless, what did you feel on that day, what were your first thoughts?

- Thoughts and emotions were different. On the one hand, I was very happy just to see the sky not through the bars, trees, fields, to hear birds singing, to breathe fresh air, to talk to my friends, to my colleagues, with whom we have not seen for a long time - someone for 4 years, someone for 5 years. Then, when we had already crossed the border, to talk to my wife, my mother, my friends who were fighting for our release outside Belarus.

On the other hand, there was the understanding that we were used as a commodity, exchanged for some favors for Lukashenko. Naturally, there was nothing pleasant about it. Such trade with the dictator only encourages him to take new hostages.

And when I learned that we were deprived of our passports (and this was already on the territory of Lithuania), my first reaction was... laughter. Those people who were listed by the Lithuanian customs officer, saying that our documents were gone, knew each other well. We just realized that this is such a mean, low revenge of a powerless old man, who just realizes that under pressure from the outside he is forced to release us, realizes that we are no longer in his power - and wants to shit in such a petty way.

It is clear that neither Lukashenko nor anyone else can deprive us of our homeland, cannot deprive us of the right to return to Belarus, it's just a matter of time.

- Nikolai Statkevich broke their game? What do you think about his action?

- Nikolai Statkevich has broken the game not only for Lukashenko, but also for those who consciously or unconsciously helped him. Those who laundered and continue to launder his oligarchs, those who called and continue to call for lifting sanctions against the regime, easing the pressure. To those who talk about "unconditional dialog" with the man on whose direct orders hostages and political prisoners are being killed and tortured, and the entire nation is being nightmarished. To those impostors who for some reason speak on behalf of us, former political prisoners and those who are in prison now. Now they are all at a loss and do not know what to do.

This is the merit of Nikolai Statkevich. He acted as a leader, he forced the others to play by his rules, did not submit to their will, did not become an object of bargaining, but became what he has always been - a subject of Belarusian politics. And now the move is behind us, because, as many people have repeatedly said, Nikolai Statkevich's life is in great danger.

Lukashenko is mortally afraid of strong opponents. When he is in such a state, he is capable of the most inadequate actions. The year 2020 showed it.

Our task is to save Nikolai Statkevich and to secure his release and that of all other political prisoners. And, as practice shows, this is possible by increasing pressure on the regime and talking to it from a position of strength.

- You predicted mass protests and revolution in early 2020, and this phrase was even quoted by the prosecutor at the trial. Visionaryism is a risky thing, but nevertheless: how do you assess the situation in Belarus and our region? What is your forecast for the near future?

- For me it was surprising to think that 2020 was a surprise for someone at all.Those who have been saying so for five years and continue to say so now, just probably don't know our people.

Because everything was already clear after the mass protests against the decree on "deadbeats", after the celebration of the centenary of the Belarusian People's Republic, after the reburial of the remains of Kastus Kalinowski and his associates, the parliamentary campaign, and the actions in defense of independence in late 2019.

Many politicians made predictions about what would happen in Belarus because of the falsification of the presidential election. Nikolai Statkevich, Andrei Sannikov, Vladimir Nekliaev, Dmitry Bondarenko, Natalya Radina, Pavel Seviarynets, Gennady Fedynich, Andrei Sharendo spoke about it. Many bloggers and journalists talked about it. Belarusians talked about it - and not only in their kitchens.

In the end, the dictator himself talked about it. One had to be blind or deaf at that time to think that nothing would happen in 2020.

As for forecasts for the future, it is difficult for me to make them yet. Unfortunately, I have never been able to see Belarus from the inside. I don't judge only by what I heard while in prison, by the impressions of those who stayed in the country, and, last but not least, by comments and posts in social networks. It should be taken into account that Belarus continues to have horrible repressions, and the majority of people simply cannot openly express their opinion.

But that doesn't mean that there isn't one. Those who went to the protests in 2020, their relatives, friends - they haven't disappeared anywhere. They hardly changed their views - there are many more reasons to hate the dictator.

I'm sure all these people still want change in the country. 2020 has hopefully taught us all that we need to be strong, we need to act in a more decisive and organized way. We need to stop counting on the regime to play by some rules, to abide by the law.

Change can happen very quickly. There are too many threats to the regime, factors of instability. Anything can become a catalyst - rising prices, non-payment of wages, problems in Russia.

The war in Ukraine is a key factor that affects our entire region. It can and is already beginning to spread to neighboring EU countries, but if the West shows firmness and strength, it will become for Russia what the Afghan war was for the Soviet Union. The victory of Ukraine means the collapse of the entire Putin system, and perhaps even the disintegration of Russia.

Naturally, Belarus occupies a key place in this scheme. The year 2020 has very clearly demonstrated to the whole world, to everyone who still doubted it, what we want. Many Belarusians are now fighting in Ukraine, supporting Ukraine in one way or another.

When we were in prison, we understood this, tried to understand what was going on at the front by crumbs of information, scraps of news, just prayed for those who were defending Ukraine. We knew that the fate of Belarus was being decided on the fields of Donbass.

- I don't want to pathos, but the return of the hero is one of the central plots in history and the collective consciousness of mankind. What will be the return home of Belarusian heroes?

- Unexpected for enemies - expected for friends. Like in 2020, only with a better outcome.

- I know many people from the times of "Zubr" who have passed your "school of life" - in hikes, street actions, joint "sutkas", at trainings and even during the ascent of Elbrus. You were never a mentor, but you could say the right word at the right moment. Say it now - to Belarusians at home and in emigration.

- The path to victory - no matter in business, in sports or in war - consists of several stages. Realization of the goal - assessment of the situation - decision-making - preparation, training, work - trials and their overcoming - breakthrough - achievement of the goal.

We, Belarusians, are now going through the most difficult.

These trials are repressions, torture, loss of loved ones, prisons, exile. But first of all - by doubts and attempts to undermine our faith in victory. Let's overcome this stage - and reach a completely different level. "He who survives hardship will become strong, he who escapes hardship will become weak," wrote Sun Tzu. Then it will be the time of a spurt - the moment when experience, knowledge, pain, and effort combine into a new quality, which becomes the key to victory.

Believe in yourself, believe in Belarus, believe in our great nation - and we will succeed.