Maxim Viniarsky: Economic Sanctions Really Work

The main event of the outgoing year is the beginning of the release of Belarusian political prisoners.

The site Charter97.org summarizes the results of the passing year. We asked ex-political prisoner, coordinator of the civil campaign "European Belarus" Maksim Viniarski to name the main events of 2025:

- For me, the main event of the passing year was the fact that the dictator, under the pressure of sanctions, began to release political prisoners. My colleagues and friends - such as Evgeny Afnagel, Andrei Voynich, Dmitry Kozlov, Pavel Severinets - found themselves free. The main thing is that they did not serve the terms they were given by the dictator.

On the other hand, this event cannot be called unambiguous. Instead of a full-fledged release, the regime uses exile - a de facto expulsion outside the country. But it is still good that this process has begun. It clearly shows that economic sanctions really work.

- What hopes do you pin on 2026?

- I hope that 2026 will bring changes - changes in the public life of Belarus and, of course, in the personal life of each of us. I hope that these changes will allow everyone who wants it to return to their homeland, from where they were forcibly removed, actually exiled.

I think that the main hero of the last year, without a doubt, is Nikolai Statkevich. The man who showed us all what a real leader is - someone who is able to take responsibility for his actions and for what is happening around him. Someone who showed us how a real leader should behave: someone who understands who attacked whom; someone who knows who the dictator is; and someone who clearly realizes that the dictator has nothing to be thankful for and can never be thanked.

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