In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Aleksandrovna / Alyaksandrauna / Alaksandraŭna and the family name is Kalesnikava.
Maria Kalesnikava
Марыя Калеснікава Мария Колесникова
Kalesnikava in 2020
Born
(1982-04-24) 24 April 1982 (age 42)
Minsk, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union (now Minsk, Belarus)
Alma mater
Belarusian State Academy of Music State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart
Occupation(s)
Flutist, political activist, conductor, music teacher
Maria Kalesnikava[a] (Marya Alyaksandrauna Kalesnikava,[b] Belarusian: Марыя Аляксандраўна Калеснікава, IPA:[maˈrɨjaalʲakˈsandrawnakaˈlʲɛsʲnʲikava]; Maria Aleksandrovna Kolesnikova, Russian: Мария Александровна Колесникова, IPA:[mɐˈrʲijəɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvnəkɐˈlʲesʲnʲɪkəvə]; born 24 April 1982) is a Belarusian professional flautist and political activist. In 2020, she headed Viktar Babaryka's electoral campaign during presidential elections of 2020 in Belarus.[1] Kalesnikava represented the united campaign of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, 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.[2] She is also a founder of the 'Razam' political party.
Kalesnikava was kidnapped by unidentified law enforcement officers on 7 September 2020. Early in the morning of 8 September 2020, she was by force taken to the Ukraine country border. Kalesnikava 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, Kalesnikava's attorney, was also detained.
On 11 September 2020, Amnesty International recognized Kalesnikava as a prisoner of conscience.[3] She was awarded the International Women of Courage Award in 2021.[4]
On 6 September 2021, Kalesnikava was sentenced to 11 years in a penal colony for her political activity.[5][6]
She was last heard from on 12 February 2023.[7]
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
^"Belarusian opposition leader Maria Kalesnikava: 'The international community should not stand aside'". atlanticcouncil.org. 22 August 2020.
^"Сябры Каардынацыйнай Рады" [Members of the Coordinating Council]. rada.vision (in Belarusian). Archived from the original on 21 August 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
^"Заявление. Беларусь: "Похищают лучших из нас". Произвольные аресты и принудительные высылки из страны ведущих оппозиционеров". eurasia.amnesty.org (in Russian). 11 September 2020. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
^"2021 International Women of Courage Award Recipients Announced". US Department of State. 4 March 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
^"Belarus opposition leader jailed in Lukashenko 'purge'". The Guardian. 6 September 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
^"Belarusian opposition leader smiles as she is sentenced to 11 years in prison for challenging Lukashenko". The Telegraph. 6 September 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
^Без права переписки,novayagazeta.eu, 13 February 2024
public relations executive manager. On July 28, 2020, together with MariaKalesnikava and other Viktar Babaryka team members, he petitioned the KGB of Belarus...
opposition candidate Valery Tsepkalo who had fled the country, and MariaKalesnikava, the campaign manager of opposition candidate Viktar Babaryka, who...
António Guterres 2020 Klaus Iohannis 2022 Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, MariaKalesnikava, Veronika Tsepkalo 2023 Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian people 2024...
Belarus. For openly opposing Alexander Lukashenko and supporting MariaKalesnikava Filipenko can be prosecuted - official press (Sovetskaya Belorussiya...
Juan Carlos I (Spanish: [xwaŋˈkaɾlos]; Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish...
Pylchenko (lawyer of Viktar Babaryka and MariaKalesnikava), Yuliya Levanchuk, Lyudmila Kazak (lawyer of MariaKalesnikava), Sergey Zikracki (lawyer of Katsyaryna...
businessman, head of the election headquarters, detained on June 18, 2020 MariaKalesnikava, art-director of the cultural hub (center) "Ok16", detained on September...
Guterres 2020/2021 Klaus Iohannis 2022 Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, MariaKalesnikava, Veronika Tsepkalo 2023 Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people...
António Guterres 2020 Klaus Iohannis 2022 Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, MariaKalesnikava, Veronika Tsepkalo 2023 Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian people 2024...
António Guterres 2020 Klaus Iohannis 2022 Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, MariaKalesnikava, Veronika Tsepkalo 2023 Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian people 2024...
a member of the presidium of the Coordination Council of Belarus MariaKalesnikava. Former political prisoner and prisoner of conscience recognised by...
António Guterres 2020 Klaus Iohannis 2022 Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, MariaKalesnikava, Veronika Tsepkalo 2023 Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian people 2024...
an initiative of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Svetlana Alexievich, MariaKalesnikava, Volha Kavalkova and Veranika Tsapkala, and political and civil society...
António Guterres 2020 Klaus Iohannis 2022 Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, MariaKalesnikava, Veronika Tsepkalo 2023 Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian people 2024...
António Guterres 2020 Klaus Iohannis 2022 Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, MariaKalesnikava, Veronika Tsepkalo 2023 Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian people 2024...
António Guterres 2020 Klaus Iohannis 2022 Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, MariaKalesnikava, Veronika Tsepkalo 2023 Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian people 2024...
António Guterres 2020 Klaus Iohannis 2022 Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, MariaKalesnikava, Veronika Tsepkalo 2023 Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian people 2024...
journalists. On 7 September 2020, GUBOPiK has abducted the politician MariaKalesnikava. On 9 September 2020, GUBOPiK has reportedly raided the office of...
António Guterres 2020 Klaus Iohannis 2022 Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, MariaKalesnikava, Veronika Tsepkalo 2023 Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian people 2024...
António Guterres 2020 Klaus Iohannis 2022 Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, MariaKalesnikava, Veronika Tsepkalo 2023 Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian people 2024...