Lukashenka Has a Fearless Rival

She calls Spartak her idol and tears balaclavas off the AMAP officers.

Nina Bahinskaja has been participating in protests against the Belarusian authorities for over 30 years. However, the world learned about her first of all as an opponent of Lukashenka - after he declared himself the "winner" in the presidential elections in August, writes the Finnish edition of MTV (translated - inosmi.ru).

Bahinskaja takes with her to rallies the same thing that many other protesters take: Belarus's ancient red and white flag. The AMAP officers take away the flag from her over and over again, and, over and over again, she sews it again.

Another trick of Nina Bahinskaja is her attempts to rip balaclavas off the AMAP officers and prevent the protesters' arrest. A couple of weeks ago, she tried to stop a car with detained women at the Women's March and tore off a balaclava from the AMAP officer. The video shows people on the street shouting: "Nina, Nina!"

The idol is Spartak himself

Nina Bahinskaja was detained at rallies many times; she became the idol of young activists. The woman says she doesn't even know how many fines she has to pay.

The author of the Finnish book "Great Women Who Made History" ("Historian jännät naiset") and editor-in-chief Maria Pettersson believes that Bahinskaja's popularity is based, among other things, on spectacular photographs.

"Photos with her have become cult. On them, a small gray-haired woman walks alone on big police officers. And she scolds them severely."

Bahinskaja has been participating in protests for several decades. She went to rallies in the USSR, then - against Lukashenka and his government.

"She called her idol Spartacus - the gladiator who led the slaves to freedom. She said she would not stop fighting until Belarus became free."

Maria Petterson says Bahinskaja's apt comments draw even more attention to her personality.

"When she is asked: "Dear lady, why are you against Lukashenka?" She declares: "Well, he won't leave here if no one drives him away." To the question "Why are you, a mother and a grandmother, here and not at home?" she replies: "I'm walking."