Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is a former presidential candidate and the leader of the national democratic movement in Belarus. According to unofficial results, she received the most votes in Belarus’ presidential election in August 2020. However, the official results were falsified in favor of Alexander Lukashenko, who has held an iron-fisted grip on power since 1994, and Tsikhanouskaya was forced out of her country. She has been officially recognized as the rightful winner of the elections by the U.S. and most European countries. Tsikhanouskaya has been rallying pressure both inside and outside of Belarus to stop state-sponsored violence and peacefully bring about free and democratic elections to resolve the crisis.
