I was jailed, my wife became leader - I like her even more
Sergei Tikhanovsky spent the last five years as a political prisoner in Belarus. His wife Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is in exile, from where she leads the opposition.
Political blogger Sergei Tikhanovsky was jailed in 2020 as he attempted to challenge Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko for the presidency. His wife Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya stood instead and is widely thought to have won the election. Despite this, she was forced into exile and now leads the opposition.
Sviatlana discusses building a family with Sergei and the political events which changed them both, as well as her five years in exile without him in our episode from 4 June 2025 entitled 'I was a stay-at-home mum until I stood for president'.
Sergei was unexpectedly released on 21 June 2025 and the couple reunited. We spoke to them a few days later for this episode.
Presenter: Jo Fidgen
Producer: Julian Siddle
Get in touch: [email protected] or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707
(Photo: Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and Sergei Tikhanovsky Credit: Sviatlana and Sergei)
Last on
Broadcasts
- Tue 15 Jul 202511:06GMTBBC World Service
- Tue 15 Jul 202517:06GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
- Tue 15 Jul 202521:06GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Wed 16 Jul 202502:06GMTBBC World Service
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