1. Maria Kalesnikava is a Belarusian professional flutist and political activist.
26 Facts About Maria Kalesnikava
1. 2.
Maria Kalesnikava is a founder of the 'Razam' political party.
3.
Maria Kalesnikava was kidnapped by unidentified law enforcement officers on 7 September 2020.
4.
Maria Kalesnikava was intimidated and pressured to leave the country, but while on neutral ground she got out of the car through the rear window, tore her passport to pieces and went back on foot.
5.
Maria Kalesnikava was awarded the International Women of Courage Award in 2021.
6.
On 6 September 2021, Maria Kalesnikava was sentenced to 11 years in a penal colony for her political activity.
7.
Maria Kalesnikava was not heard from since 12 February 2023, until her father was allowed to visit her in prison on 12 November 2024.
8.
Maria Kalesnikava was born on 24 April 1982 in Minsk to a family of engineers.
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Maria Kalesnikava has one sibling, a sister named Tatiana Khomich.
10.
Maria Kalesnikava studied in a music school, then graduated from the Belarusian State Academy of Music as a flutist and conductor.
11.
At the age of 17, Maria Kalesnikava started teaching the flute at a private gymnasium school in Minsk.
12.
Maria Kalesnikava played the flute at the National Academic Concert Orchestra of the Republic of Belarus under the direction of Mikhail Finberg.
13.
Maria Kalesnikava played on tours across Italy, Poland, and Lithuania.
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Maria Kalesnikava got two master's degrees, one in Early Music, and another in Neue Musik in 2012.
15.
In 2017, Maria Kalesnikava participated in one of the first TEDxNiamiha conferences in Belarus.
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Maria Kalesnikava took part in creation of the 'Artemp' art community that hosted contemporary art events.
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In May 2020, Maria Kalesnikava became the head of Viktar Babaryka's presidential campaign, who was Alexander Lukashenko's greatest independent competitor at the 2020 Belarusian presidential election.
18.
Maria Kalesnikava visited protest meetings as a private person; via mass media she asked both citizens and law enforcement to preserve peace.
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On 18 August 2020, Maria Kalesnikava joined the 7-member presidium of Coordination Council.
20.
Meanwhile, Maria Kalesnikava stated to the media that she by no means would leave Belarus because she felt it was deeply personal not to flee while her colleagues and friends were jailed under unlawful charges.
21.
On 7 September 2020, Belarusian media published the news that Maria Kalesnikava was kidnapped in the center of Minsk.
22.
State-controlled TV-channels put around the story that Maria Kalesnikava was detained at the border cross when trying to leave the country and move to her sister in Ukraine.
23.
Maria Kalesnikava pleaded not guilty and called any charges against herself and Znak 'absurd'.
24.
On 6 September 2021, Maria Kalesnikava was sentenced to 11 years in prison.
25.
On 29 November 2022, Maria Kalesnikava was hospitalized in critical condition.
26.
Maria Kalesnikava was last heard from on 12 February 2023.