During its operation, the "ministers" of the cabinet have constantly changed, often leaving the cabinet amid scandals.
Last year brought Belarusian people the joy of the release of about 300 Belarusian political prisoners. Among them were the main leaders of the 2020 protests - Siarhei Tsikhanouski, Viktar Babaryka, and Maryia Kalesnikava. This could significantly change the balance of power in the Belarusian opposition in exile.
DW Belarus decided to investigate how the Belarusian democratic forces are currently structured. To do this, we asked the main political actors about their roles in 2026, who they collaborate with, and who they do not.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and Her Office - Five Years of Leadership
For more than five years, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has been the leader of the democratic forces in Belarus. Since her exile abroad, the Office of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has been operating in Vilnius (due to changes in security levels in Lithuania, the Office is reportedly considering moving to Warsaw). As DW advisor to Tsikhanouskaya Franak Viachorka explained, the main task of the Office is to assist Tsikhanouskaya "in fulfilling the tasks of the elected president."
According to him, the Office collaborates most closely with the United Transitional Cabinet (UTC), the Coordination Council (CC), the National Anti-Crisis Management (NAC), BelPol, as well as with human rights defenders, the media sector, and civil society.
"We do not have a situation where we definitely do not work with certain people. There are those who do not like the Office or the Cabinet - so be it. As long as they are doing something useful for Belarus," said Tsikhanouskaya's advisor.
The United Transitional Cabinet as a "Proto-Government"
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya also heads the United Transitional Cabinet - a kind of "proto-government" in exile, established in August 2022. Given the formal hierarchy, the UTC can be considered a continuation of the Office, where each representative is responsible for their topic.
During its operation, the "ministers" of the cabinet have constantly changed, often leaving the cabinet amid scandals. The only unchanged member of the UTC remains the representative for power transition, Pavel Latushko. Currently, the cabinet includes Alisa Ryzhichenko (economy), Vadim Kabanchuk (national security), Margarita Vorykhova (youth), Pavel Barkovski (national revival), and Olga Zazulinskaya (social policy).
What is the Coordination Council Doing?
The Coordination Council (CC) was established in August 2020 at the initiative of Tsikhanouskaya. The CC was conceived as the main opposition body, which was supposed to facilitate negotiations with the regime and the transition of power.
Currently, the third convocation of the CC is in operation - it has 7 factions and 70 delegates. Initially, there were more delegates - in October of last year, seven delegates left the structure when the council could not agree on mandatory polygraph checks for delegates. Additionally, a significant challenge for the structure was the disappearance of the previous speaker of the CC, Anzhelika Melnikova, whose whereabouts are still unknown.
The position of the speaker of the CC is held by Artem Bruhan from the "Latushko Team and the Movement for Freedom," while the vice-speakers are Yelizaveta Prokopchik from "Maladzyeva Hnapu" and Pavel Mariyevski from the "European Choice" faction. The mandate of the CC is two years, which means that elections should take place within a few months.
Pavel Latushko Heads NAC, Collaborates with UTC and CC
The closest cooperation among the democratic forces is between the Office, UTC, and Pavel Latushko. Latushko is Tsikhanouskaya's deputy in the UTC but also has his own structure - the National Anti-Crisis Management. Moreover, he heads the largest faction in the CC - the "Latushko Team and the Movement for Freedom."
In a comment to DW, Latushko describes the NAC as an expert organization and notes that the structure operates in three main areas - sanction pressure, legal prosecution, and media work with propaganda.
According to the head of the NAC, the structure has no taboos on cooperation with any organization or initiative. "We work through institutions and are ready to build coalitions, collaborate, and do not attack or criticize anyone; we focus on promoting our agenda rather than criticizing others."
Siarhei Tsikhanouski: The First Gentleman or?
On June 21, 2025, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's husband Siarhei was released and immediately became actively involved in political activities. In his first interviews, he spoke about Sviatlana's leadership and referred to himself as the "first gentleman," but it soon became clear that this role was too small for him. In just over six months of freedom, he found himself at the center of several scandals, including a conflict with Sviatlana's team.
Tsikhanouski did not join the Office but, under the patronage of businessman and public figure Vadim Prokopyev, focused on the American direction. He proposed the idea of "Finlandization" of Belarus (a strategy implying a renunciation of a share of sovereignty in exchange for guarantees of its own security), which contradicts the Office's strategy in many ways.
"In 2026, I will focus on working with the USA. In my opinion, it is there that I must first prove the viability of my doctrine. Furthermore, the USA remains the only party that truly influences the release of our hostages," believes Tsikhanouski.
Will Viktar Babaryka and Maryia Kalesnikava Return to Politics?
On December 13, 2025, the main leaders of 2020 from the "Babaryka team" - Viktar Babaryka, Maryia Kalesnikava, and Maksim Znaka were finally released. Babaryka's son Eduard remains in prison.
During their imprisonment, the team managed the politician's social media in a humanitarian direction, and only Ivan Kravtsov allowed himself political statements - often criticizing the Office, UTC, and Pavel Latushko.
Since the press conference in Ukraine the day after their release, neither Maryia Kalesnikava nor Viktar Babaryka has made any political statements. It is only known that Kalesnikava and Babaryka were received by the German government. The politician's team also could not respond to DW's inquiry about future plans.
The Coalition for Release as a Counterweight to the Office and UTC
Recently, the Coalition for the Release of Political Prisoners has emerged as a counterweight to the Office and UTC. It includes human rights activist and former political prisoner Olga Horbunova, Maryia Kalesnikava's sister Tatyana Khomich, and former diplomat Valery Kovaleuski, who was part of Tsikhanouskaya's team a few years ago.
They criticize the Office and UTC for their strategy and prioritize the release of political prisoners. "Practice shows that without dialogue with the regime and without compromises, it is impossible to proceed," Kovaleuski said in a comment to DW.
According to Kovaleuski, the basis of the "notable cooling" of his contacts with the Office and UTC is "discrepancies in the assessment of the situation in Belarus, in the adequacy of the democratic movement's strategy in the changed context."
Zenon Poznyak: Radical Criticism of the Opposition
Among those dissatisfied with Tsikhanouskaya's team is politician Zenon Poznyak, who has been living in exile for 30 years. He calls Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya a "Kremlin project" and a "puppet of the EU," and Viktar Babaryka an "agent of the Kremlin."
As early as 2017, Poznyak founded the "Free Belarus" movement - it declared that in the event of the liquidation of the "anti-people's regime," it would take responsibility for the country's future. In recent years, Zenon Poznyak's activity has noticeably increased: he has visited Ukraine several times, including Bakhmut - one of the hottest spots on the front, and met with Belarusian fighters from the Kalinouski regiment, as well as deputies of the Verkhovna Rada.
Pavel Severinets Supported Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya
After his release on December 13, 2025, another well-known Belarusian politician emerged in the public sphere - the leader of the "Christian Democracy" Pavel Severinets. According to his statements, he supports Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and her symbolic role - he even participated in Tsikhanouskaya's New Year's address.
"Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is currently the only Belarusian figure that attracts attention on an international scale. Without Tsikhanouskaya, there will be nothing. This is how international politics works," Severinets wrote on his Facebook page.
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