Tsikhanouskaya visited a farmstead of former political prisoners
Siarhei Houn and Natallia Tsiuliupava settled in Podlachia, just 6 km from the Belarusian border. There they undertook the restoration of a neglected estate to create a place of strength and meetings.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya (right) at the farmstead of Siarhei Houn and Natallia Tsiuliupava. Here and further — photos from Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's Telegram channel
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, together with Pavel Latushka and other Belarusians from Warsaw, visited a farmstead near the Belarusian border, which was acquired by former political prisoner Siarhei Houn and Natallia Tsiuliupava.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya at the farmstead of Siarhei Houn and Natallia Tsiuliupava. Here and further — photos from Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's Telegram channel
After Siarhei's release from Belarusian prison, the couple settled in Podlachia, just 6 km from the Belarusian border.
There they undertook the restoration of a neglected house to create a place of strength and meetings for free Belarusians.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya at the farmstead of Siarhei Houn and Natallia Tsiuliupava. Here and further — photos from Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's Telegram channel
Over 50 people gathered here for Kupala Night.
Together with the participants, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya wove Kupala wreaths, danced in circles, and sang Belarusian songs.
"Celebrating Kupala Night at a farmstead with such a symbolic name 'Mroya' (Dream) is like returning to childhood, where every holiday was filled with real magic. What Siarhei and Natallia have done here and continue to do is inspiring. They have transformed an abandoned place into a true island of Belarusianness," says Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.
"As we wove wreaths together, picked blueberries, sang our songs, and danced in circles, I once again felt: Belarus lives within each of us."
"Thanks to everyone who was there that day, and especially to the hosts of 'Mroya' — for a Belarusian place in Poland, where we can be together," wrote Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.
Siarhei Houn is the former husband of singer Hanna Blahava, who became a star of pro-government concerts. Blahava was named the winner of "Song of the Year" with a song written to the words of Aliaksandr Lukashenka's daughter-in-law Hanna Sialiuk. Together with Sialiuk, they also wrote the "Anthem of the Minsk Militia".
Siarhei Houn and Hanna Blahava. Photo: screenshot from chestnok_live / YouTube; annablagova / Instagram
The couple divorced even before the 2020 protests, in which Siarhei Houn participated. Later, he was detained and sentenced to 2.5 years of imprisonment. He served his term in the "Vitsba" penal colony.