I read a lot. Five books a week. Now that I'm free, I don't have time for that anymore, because I have many other responsibilities.
Why is it important for a prisoner to maintain daily rituals like the lady with the red lipstick? Someone might say that in prison it doesn't matter what you look like.
Lipstick and other little things allowed me to maintain my freedom in a slave environment, strengthened my individuality and gave me strength. Due to my case, guards later banned women in the penal colony from using lipstick, and the lipsticks were withdrawn from the store.
How would you describe? the prison where you were staying? What did your cell look like?
I was completely alone in the cell. The isolation room was two by three meters. I spent two and a half years there. It was a terrible cell straight from the 19th century, with cold water. There was little light and air there. Still, I made one important discovery – even in these repulsive conditions, there were people who remained humane, who behaved decently. I'm also thinking about some of the guards.
“My soul and mind have never been in prison for a moment”
What allowed you to survive this difficult time, especially when you were completely cut off from the world behind bars?
It's hard to describe, but throughout this whole time, even in the worst moments, I didn't feel enslaved. The authorities, of course, tried very hard to create conditions for this, my body was locked in prison, but my soul and mind were never in prison for a moment. They failed to make me depressed or frustrated because it was my personal choice not to break and give up.
Every morning when I woke up, I smiled, I was incredibly happy that I had another day ahead of me, that I could breathe and – even through the bars – look at the sky. What I want to say is that regardless of the circumstances, we decide about our freedom until the very end.
The last time you appeared in our “world of living” reality was when the Belarusian regime tried to expel you from the country after the rigged elections in 2020, and you opposed it. After you tore your passport at the border, you were sentenced to 11 years in prison for an alleged coup attempt. Were there times when you regretted your decision to stay?
Not for a second. I don't regret anything. I am sure that the decision to stay in Belarus was the right one. I also want to emphasize that it was not my choice to go to prison. It was Lukashenko's decision. I wanted to stay with my compatriots, share with them this difficult experience after the rigging of the presidential elections, stand with them shoulder to shoulder in these difficult moments of our history.
Ondrej Kundra and Maryja Kalesnikawa during an interview for RespektMatej Stransky / Respekt
“Belarus is still not Russia and Lukashenko does not want to be part of Russia”
In several interviews after your release from prison, you said that the West should lift the economic sanctions imposed by Americans and Europeans on the Belarusian regime, arguing that only this could encourage the authorities to release of further political prisoners. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the president-elect in exile, has a different opinion and wants the sanctions to remain in place. Why do you think this solution could work?
This quote was not mine, my statement was distorted in the press headline. Lukashenko is not a good man, he is a dictator. I have no illusions. But this is a pragmatic matter: the example of the Americans' talks with Lukashenko shows that there is a window of opportunity, such actions led to the release of some political prisoners.
What is your position?
I know exactly what one day in prison means to any man. There are still many people in Belarusian prisons who still have years left to serve their sentences. It is a tragedy for each of them and their families. Some are over 70 years old. My point is to find a solution that will allow them to be released, even if it means negotiating with Lukashenko.
I, my family, friends and all my colleagues are very grateful to US President Trump, his administration and his envoys for working consistently and long-term on this. Thanks to this, at least 500 people are now free.
We all need to do everything we can to make sure this doesn't end there. When we talk about security in Europe, it is also very important to understand that Belarus is still not Russia and Lukashenko does not want to be part of Russia. This creates additional space for the West to influence the situation of political prisoners, but also to pursue its own security interests.
You're following war in Ukraine?
Yes. I hope that the war will end as soon as possible and peace will reign. This is why Europe should do as much as possible for Ukraine and continue to actively support it.
