{"id":206823,"date":"2026-10-09T13:18:37","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T10:18:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/206823\/"},"modified":"2026-10-09T13:18:38","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T10:18:38","slug":"cichanouskis-attacks-cause-confusion-within-opposition","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/206823\/","title":{"rendered":"Cichano\u016dski\u2019s attacks cause confusion within opposition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Siarhiej Cichano\u016dski, a former presidential candidate in 2020 known for his punchy anti-\u0141uka\u0161enka slogan \u201cStop the Cockroach!\u201d, has turned out to be a divisive figure for the opposition since his release in June 2025 as part of the first large group of political prisoners freed with Washington\u2019s assistance. His release and subsequent attacks on the opposition camp may have been a calculated move by the regime\u2019s security services.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n facebook.com\/SergeyTihanovski, Anton Sciepani\u0161\u010da\u016d (sb.by) \/ Pozirk's collage<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Belarusian leader Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka told Time<\/em> Magazine<\/em> shortly after releasing Cichano\u016dski that the United States had not asked him to free his former rival and the husband of opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja, stressing: \u201cIt was my decision.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Possible KGB operation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka presented his move as an act of humanism, noting that Cichano\u016dskaja wanted her family to be reunited. \u201cThere\u2019s a family there, children, two little kids,\u201d he said, adding: \u201cBut now I see that you, the West, are unhappy. And the fugitives are especially unhappy that I let him go.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, by the time \u0141uka\u0161enka gave that interview to Time Magazine<\/em>, Cichano\u016dski had already been making headlines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At a rally following his release, he vowed: \u201cI will break this regime.\u201d He then announced plans to deliver a \u201cpowerful blow to \u0141uka\u0161ism and its propaganda\u201d within three weeks, asking for \u20ac200,000 in donations. Just a couple of days later, he lashed out at Belarusians for not donating enough to his cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In early July last year, he admitted that the security services had tried to recruit him while he was behind bars. \u201cThey expected me to break up, to split the opposition here. They told me that [Pavie\u0142] \u0141atu\u0161ka drinks, that \u015aviat\u0142ana does this, that Franak Via\u010dorka does that\u2026\u201d He said he had later laughed about it in his cell, thinking \u201cwhat fools they [the security services] are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, whether at the KGB\u2019s behest or unintentionally, he has become a rallying point for opposition activists dissatisfied with the way things work in his wife\u2019s camp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2020 hero collides head-on with a new reality<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

KGB chief Ivan Tertel has been involved in negotiations with the Americans. According to informed sources, the KGB has considerable influence over the list of prisoners released in each round.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the first few weeks after Cichano\u016dski\u2019s release, it seemed that he had not fulfilled the KGB\u2019s apparent expectation that his ambition and high-handed style would sow discord within the opposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He declared that he intended to be the \u201cfirst gentleman,\u201d acknowledging his wife as the leader because she claimed victory in the 2020 presidential election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But soon afterward, tensions between him and Cichano\u016dskaja\u2019s office came to the surface. I will not examine the reasons for this clash here, as political motives have become intertwined with personal ones, making it a delicate matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In September last year, during a meeting with Belarusians in New York, he was somewhat assertive toward his wife and criticized her chief adviser, Franak Via\u010dorka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later, he retreated into the background as he struggled to come to terms with a new political reality, in which he was no longer the main character. He tried his hand at political theory, writing several articles about the Finlandization of Belarus, but received poor reviews from experts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eventually, Cichano\u016dski, who had moved to the United States, began reading poems and fairy tales on his YouTube channel. During a period of political limbo, he seemed to have found a new outlet for self-expression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cichano\u016dski\u2019s clash with the media<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In August this year, Cichano\u016dski, himself a popular blogger, launched an all-out offensive against Belarusian independent media outlets in exile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He accused Nasha Niva<\/em> of exaggerating the scale of his birthday celebrations by claiming that he had thrown a party \u201cin a grand style.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The issue hardly seemed worth making a fuss about. If he objected to the wording, he could have asked the newspaper to change the headline or publish a correction. He could also have taken the matter to court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, Cichano\u016dski announced that he would compile dossiers on what he called \u201ctabloid\u201d media outlets and send them to their donors, urging them to consider whether these publications deserved continued funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The attack on Nasha Niva<\/em> was followed by a campaign against other media outlets and individual journalists. Cichano\u016dski and his supporters claim that these outlets serve the interests of the office headed by his wife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abusive language<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Cichano\u016dski and his supporters have used abusive language against journalists, calling them \u201cclowns,\u201d \u201cscum\u201d and worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I, too, have been targeted by this crowd for defending independent media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a livestream a few days ago, Cichano\u016dski repeatedly referred to the 2015 Islamist attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo<\/em>, in which 12 people were killed and 11 injured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The blogger claimed to know people prepared to deal with the Belarusian \u201ctabloid\u201d press in a similar manner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A couple of days later, Pozirk<\/em> received an anonymous email threatening me personally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sender presumably sought to conceal their identity by using Atomic Mail, a service that does not disclose the sender\u2019s IP address in outgoing email headers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whoever is behind the threat, two points need to be made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, through his social media campaign, Cichano\u016dski is, wittingly or unwittingly, inciting hatred against independent media and his wife\u2019s office, encouraging fringe figures to attack them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, this campaign creates fertile ground for the regime\u2019s security services, which seek to intimidate pro-democracy media outlets forced into exile but still carrying out their mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the security services advised \u0141uka\u0161enka to release Cichano\u016dski, whose wife disputed the official results and claimed victory in the 2020 election, in the hope of producing this effect, General Tertel can rub his hands with satisfaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regardless of his motives, Cichano\u016dski is effectively fueling infighting among the regime\u2019s opponents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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