Ex-teacher hopes to free Belarus from president's iron fist

A 37-year-old former English teacher without political experience seems an unlikely challenger to authoritarian president of Belarus who has been ex-Soviet nation's only leer for more than a quarter-century.

And yet, Sviatlana Tsikhauskaya has united various opposition factions behind her candidacy and drawn tens of thousands of supporters to her campaign rallies ahe of presidential election on Sunday.

Tsikhauskaya says crowds - biggest demonstrations Belarus has seen since becoming independent in 1991 - reflect a desperate longing for transformation after President Alexander Lukashenko's 26-year rule.

In an interview with Associated Press, she described herself as a “symbol of change.”

“People see me t as a consummate politician striving for power, but just an aver person like mselves - and y like it,” Tsikhauskaya said. “y understand that I don't want anything for myself."

Her rally a few days ago in Brest on border with Poland drew over 20,000 people, a massive showing for a city that has never seen big political protests. A few days before that, Tsikhauskaya's rally in capital, Minsk, attracted more than 60,000. It was largest opposition garing in Belarus since rallies in months before 1991 Soviet collapse.

“I'm tired of being patient and silent, I'm tired of being afraid,” Tsikhauskaya told enthusiastic crowd in Brest.

Lukashenko, 65, was a Soviet state farm director before he became first Belarusian president in 1994. Since n he has cracked down on dissent and independent media in nation of 9.5 million, earning nickname of “Europe's last dictator.”

But this time, Lukashenko appears to have lost his bravo and looks increasingly nervous in face of opposition rallies. More than 1,000 people have been detained for taking part in protests since campaign began.

Painful ecomic fallout from coronavirus pandemic and government's botched response to outbreak has eroded Lukashenko's standing.

He h refused to introduce lockdown measures and dismissed coronavirus as “psychosis” until he ackwledged last month that he h been infected but recovered quickly.

Tsikhauskaya said Lukashenko's vice that Belarusians protect mselves against virus with a daily shot of vodka was like “a spit in face.”

She told AP that arrest this year of her husband, a popular opposition blogger who aspired to run for president himself, left her choice but to enter politics.

“It was brewing inside for more than 20 years. We were afraid all that time and one dared to say a word,” she said. “But if I could overcome my fear, everyone can.”

Her husband, Syarhei Tsikhausky, has remained in jail since his arrest in May on charges of assailing a police officer. He has dismissed charges as a provocation.

Last week, Belarusian authorities opened a new probe against Tsikhauskaya's husband on charges of planning to st “mass riots” with 33 Russian private security contractors arrested on Wednesday. Russia has rejected charges, saying men were en route to ar country.

Tsikhauskaya dismissed accusations against her husband as a sham. “He has relation to that, and people realize it,” she said.

If she wins, Tsikhauskaya said, she will free all political prisoners, order a constitutional referendum that would limit number of presidential terms and introduce or democratic changes. She vowed to step down after six months to hold a new, free presidential vote.

She also said she will move to do away with a union treaty envisaging close ecomic, political and military ties with Russia. Many in Belarusian opposition see union as a threat to country's independence.

Lukashenko has relied on Russian subsidies and loans to keep Belarus' Soviet-era ecomy afloat. He deunced a hike in Russian energy prices this year as part of Kremlin's pressure on Belarus to abandon its independence and pointed at arrest of 33 Russian security contractors as a sign of Moscow's subversive plans.

Western observers have described previous presidential elections in Belarus as rigged to keep Lukashenko in office.

Tsikhauskaya has emerged as rallying figure for opposition after election officials refused to register for ballot two or potential candidates who were seen as Lukashenko's strongest potential challengers.

One, Viktor Babariko, he of a major Russia-controlled bank, was jailed in May on money-laundering and tax-evasion charges that he rejected as politically driven. Ar, Valery Tsepkalo, fled to Russia with his children last month after receiving a tip that his arrest was imminent and authorities were prepared to strip him of parental rights.

Tsikhauskaya has teamed up with Tsepkalo's wife, who stayed in Belarus, and Babariko's campaign manr to run an energetic campaign. Three or contenders on ballot are widely seen as token candidates.

Tsikhauskaya said she h to send her 10-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter to a European country she wouldn’t name after receiving threats.

“I got a phone call: 'We will put you behind bars and place your children in an orphan,"" she said. “I was hesitating and on verge of stepping down.”

She said it was a tormenting decision. “But I me that choice” to keep running, she said. “re must be a symbol of freedom.”