Belarus opposition leader selected 2026 laureate of Timișoara Award for European Values

Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has been named the 2026 recipient of the Timișoara Award for European Values, the City Hall announced. The award will be presented during a gala held on November 6, alongside the Timișoara Forum for European Values.

The jury recognized Tsikhanouskaya for “the courage to peacefully resist a criminal regime,” her defense of freedom and human dignity, and her efforts to preserve hope for a democratic Belarus.

“The award reaffirms the solidarity of Timișoara and Romania with the citizens of Belarus and their legitimate aspiration for democracy,” the City Hall said.

A former English teacher and mother of two, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya became a leading figure in the Belarusian democratic movement in 2020, when the opposition challenged the presidential election result and the repression carried out by Aleksandr Lukashenko’s regime.

Forced into exile, she continued campaigning for a peaceful democratic transition and the release of political prisoners.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, she established and led the United Transitional Cabinet alongside the Coordination Council, creating an institutional alternative to the Lukashenko regime. Her office in Vilnius operates as a de facto diplomatic mission, while another office opened in Warsaw in 2026.

The jury also drew a parallel between Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s campaign and Timișoara’s role in the Romanian Revolution of December 1989, when residents protested against the communist dictatorship.

“Today, in a different historical context, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya carries forward the same belief that no regime has the right to deprive a people of its freedom,” the jury said.

The Timișoara Award for European Values was previously presented to Moldovan president Maia Sandu and European Parliament president Roberta Metsola. The prize is worth EUR 30,000.