Nikolai Statkevich Turns 70
6- 12.08.2026, 7:55
- 1,552
Anniversary of the Belarusian opposition leader.
Today marks the 70th birthday of Belarusian opposition leader Nikolai Statkevich. He was born on August 12, 1956, in the village of Lyadno, in the Slutsk District. He graduated from the Minsk Higher Engineering School of Anti-Aircraft Missiles and served for four years in the Murmansk region.
In 1991, Statkevich announced the creation of the Belarusian Military Union (“Belaruskaia Zgurtavaniia Vaiskovtsau”), whose goals were “the creation of a Belarusian army, the defense of independence, and the historical and patriotic education of society.”
In 1999, Nikolai was one of the organizers of the “March of Freedom,” which was directed against the so-called “Union State” and the policies of Alexander Lukashenko. The “March of Freedom” showed the whole world that the people of Belarus prefer the European democratic path of development to medieval dictatorship and barbarism.
In 2005, Statkevich was sentenced to three years of restricted freedom for organizing a peaceful demonstration against the rigging of the 2004 referendum results.
In 2010, Nikolai was one of the presidential candidates in the election. He was arrested following a mass protest demonstration against the rigging of the presidential election on December 19, 2010. Nikolai spent nearly five years behind bars and was released only on August 22, 2015. After his release, Statkevich continued his fight against the Lukashenko regime and took an active part in all protest actions.
On May 31, 2020, Nikolai Statkevich was detained on his way to a protest rally, and in December 2021, he was sentenced to 14 years in a maximum-security prison.
On February 19, 2026, he was released and returned home to Minsk. He had suffered a stroke while in prison.
Nikolai Statkevich remains in Belarus. Recently, in an interview with *Zeit*, he stated that attempts to force him out of the country have been in vain.
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