"The Work of Propagandists Is Hardly Cleaner Than Ours." Ex-Political Prisoners Opened Their Cleaning Company in Warsaw — How Did It Go?

Pavel Lukayanov and Dzmitry Kanapelka

At the end of 2025, Dzmitry and Pavel launched their own business in emigration — a cleaning company called «BoberDober» — their project became a response to the inability to quickly find a job in a foreign country without knowing the language.

Since then, the guys have gained regular clients, and their services were advertised by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. We talked with them about business challenges, competition, the dirtiest orders, and the propaganda scare story about cleaning toilets for "masters".

Dzmitry Kanapelka was a defendant in the case of Viktor Babaryka's campaign volunteers. He was arrested in September 2020 and accused of preparing for mass riots, sentenced to five years in prison. Pavel Lukayanov spent four years behind bars. He was arrested in June 2021 on a criminal case for participating in mass riots.

"We Don't Play the 'Little Belarusian' Role"

We meet in a new shelter for ex-political prisoners, which Belarusians managed to acquire thanks to the efforts of Hanna Fiedaronak and her team. The new house is almost twice as big as the previous one, has a cozy green area, space for its own greenhouse, two bathrooms, and two kitchens, which means it will be able to accommodate with greater comfort those who are forced to flee repression at home or are deported directly from prisons.

After opening the cleaning company, the guys immediately wanted to thank the first shelter, where they themselves lived during their first, most difficult months after moving, with a free cleaning. But considering the housewarming, the "beavers" (referring to BoberDober) arrived with their equipment and professional chemicals at the new house.

Павялічыць

«BoberDober» in the company name is a reference to popular Polish memes and the animal's industriousness, and also a way to differentiate from competitors who like to use direct words in their names — «cleanliness», «cleaning», and so on. To start, the guys needed a few thousand dollars, which they spent on advertising and purchasing chemicals

Like in a real team, Pavel and Dzmitry have a division of responsibilities. The former handles social networks and ad setup, the latter is responsible for the website and documentation. But each of them takes orders and goes out to fulfill them. Especially since today their team consists of seven people — four cleaners, an accountant, plus the founders themselves.

"We'd only like to command!" — the interlocutors joke. "But there are things that are difficult for our girls [currently only women in the team] to do — window cleaning, for example, or dry cleaning. Well, or there might be an order where ten windows need to be cleaned, and you just join in and help. We don't play the 'little Belarusian' role. And it's not the kind of business where you can start from the position of a 'director in a suit'. You have to understand the whole process yourself: how much time cleaning takes, which products work best, to check the quality of the cleaning."

"No matter how much money you have at the start, you'll still have to figure everything out — from advertising to the cleaning itself. Because where will you immediately find experienced cleaners if you're still nobody in the market?”

The guys say that finding a good cleaner is perhaps the biggest challenge. They would gladly pay an employee the average Polish salary, but from the resumes they receive, only a small percentage of candidates can actually be entrusted with cleaning. Partly for this reason, they currently have four permanent cleaners, all of whom are from Belarus. They say Belarusians have the clearest and highest standard of cleanliness.

Incidentally, part of the team is also comprised of former political prisoners.

Павялічыць

"10-15 Percent of Clients Are Indians"

Although Pavel and Dzmitry never shied away from cleaning at home, it's not even close to professional cleaning — they had to learn many things from scratch.

"For example, with dry cleaning, I watched a stack of videos on YouTube — from blogger recommendations to training videos. We tested everything on furniture and carpets at home. And with each new order, you expand your experience,” says Pavel. “Our very first dry cleaning order involved a question about drying. A sofa takes about twelve hours to dry after it, but with a fan, it's three to four. Plus, if the furniture surface doesn't dry in time, it can start to get damp or rot. So we immediately bought a fan.”

In a good month, the "Beavers" can complete about 50-70 orders. Among them, there are consistently regular clients. They also manage very large calls, where they have to go as a team of four.

"Our most difficult order so far was probably at a Georgian restaurant. Once a month, we do a general cleaning for them. Their kitchen operates daily, and it's clear that ovens and grills won't be cleaned by any 'Fairy' (brand name for dish soap) — strong chemicals are needed and active scrubbing. Overall, you encounter so many surfaces that a limited number of products won't suffice. We started with five products, and now we have about 20.”

Павялічыць

"There was also a recent post-renovation order,” Dzmitry recalls. “The builders had left everything dirty, and the kitchen furniture was packed in the garage. The client's wife was pregnant, they needed to move in, but everything in the house was dusty, and the renovation was still ongoing. The four of us worked there all day: cleaning, moving furniture, and appliances. We carried washing machines, a refrigerator, a dryer to the second floor. It was more like help than just cleaning. We wanted to help people.”

During their work, the cleaners have seen many heavily soiled apartments — where bins had piled up next to beds, bathrooms were stained, and the floor seemed to be covered with a layer of grease.

"Trash and dirt are not scary, but the smell in such places is, of course, unpleasant.”

Павялічыць

About 30% of «BoberDober» clients are currently Belarusians, Ukrainians, and Poles. Another 30% are "multilingual" clients — these can be Americans, or Britons, various relocants from global corporations who need help getting their security deposit back when moving out of an apartment.

"10-15 percent of clients are Indians. Some are used to seeing them in delivery services, but many high-class specialists from India live in Poland — IT professionals, bank employees with their own homes near Warsaw.”

Павялічыць

Dirty water after sofa dry cleaning

Павялічыць

Pavel checks if all chemicals have been washed out of the sofa

"We Are Not Ashamed to Admit a Mistake"

Unlike some competitors, «BoberDober» immediately focused not on the quantity of orders, but on quality.

"Yes, our prices are slightly higher than average, but we are responsible for the quality. We have a rule that at the end of the cleaning, we go with the client and show everything, check everything. Even if they say: «Oh, just drop the keys in the mailbox» — we ask them to come to the location and check everything.

Because if they call us a week later and say we cleaned poorly, it will be unclear whose truth it is: a lot can happen in a week. To improve quality, we constantly try to buy more equipment, chemicals, we always strive to modernize something — in short, to raise the bar.”

However, it's still impossible to avoid negative reviews. A month ago, the cleaning company received one star on Google Maps and was advised to avoid any cooperation with the company.

"The service wasn't even provided there. The person lives far outside the city, about fifty kilometers away. And somehow we misjudged that distance — we confirmed the order first, and then everything was canceled at the last moment. Currently, we only work in Warsaw and its nearby suburbs — up to 30 kilometers. That client was disappointed, I understand him. We are not ashamed to admit a mistake — there truly was an oversight in our interaction from our side.”

Павялічыць

"We Are Cellmates. That's More Than Friends!"

It's not without conflicts among themselves either.

"We have aggressive negotiations all the time! We shout, quarrel, argue,” Dzmitry smiles. “— Yet there's no lingering internal resentment or anger. The prison taught us that, in a way. Because there, if they truly provoked you, they would push harder. So you learn not to get emotional.”

"When friends argue, it can drag on for a long time. But we are cellmates, that's more! Cellmates can quarrel, and then sit and watch football together. In other words, it's a different attitude towards quarrels,” adds Pavel.

"Nasha Niva": What would you say to propagandists who might say, "Look, they went to clean toilets for Polish masters (or 'lords')?"

Dzmitry Kanapelka: And we're proud of it! (smiles). In my opinion, all professions are needed and all are important. We all provide services to each other. You go to a clerk at a bank, and he provides you with a service. And a cleaner then comes to him. We are all people. And I don't know if the work of propagandists — throwing shit on the fan — is cleaner than ours. Hardly.

With current turnovers, the entrepreneurs have enough money for housing and all household expenses.

"It's not about wealth, but about a normal, comfortable life. Because we consciously allocate a portion of the money each month for global development — to buy a telescopic pole for window cleaning, or new chemicals. And we still have many plans.”

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