Today Is Viktar Ivashkevich's Birthday

Public and political figure Viktor Ivashkevich was born on September 21, 1959 in Minsk.

In 1991 Victor Ivashkevich graduated from the Faculty of Journalism of the Belarusian State University, where he had been studying by correspondence. In the early 80's he was an active participant in the national democratic youth informal associations – Maistrounia and Talaka, one of the most talented organizers of various actions and events, including a march of protest in the Western Dzvina-Daugava against the construction of the Daugava hydroelectric power station, ecological march in Prypiat – one of the first Chernobyl protests, strikes of city bus drivers in Minsk; the initiator of the establishment of strike committees at Minsk enterprises.

He was an activist of the committee for the creation of the Belarusian Popular Front since its creation in 1988. Viktar Ivashkevich remained the secretary of the BPF Board until 1996. The politician acted as the organizer of the largest mass protest actions.

Viktar Ivashkevich was the editor-in-chief of the newspaper Worker since 1997, since 1999 – the vice-president of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions. In 2002, the politician was sentenced to two years of restriction of freedom for the article "Thief Should Be In Prison", which was dedicated to Lukashenka.

Being a member of Andrei Sannikov's team, he took an active part in the presidential campaign of 2010.

Viktar Ivashkevich was repeatedly subjected to administrative penalties, he was hunger-striking twice.

Viktar Ivashkevich died suddenly on October 3, 2013 in a hospital in Minsk. The politician was waiting for a liver transplant, but the donor was not found.

The website Charter97.org established the National Award for the Protection of Human Rights in the name of Viktar Ivashkevich.