Olga Kovalkova also known as Volha Kavalkova ( be, Вольга Аляксандраўна Кавалькова, Voĺha Aliaksandraŭna Kavaĺkova, russian: Ольга Александровна Ковалькова; born 26 January 1984 in

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

) is a Belarusian activist and a member of the presidium of the Coordination Council of Belarus that was formed by the presidential candidate

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya Sviatlana Heorhiyeuna Tsikhanouskaya (' Pilipchuk;, , ; russian: Светлана Георгиевна Тихановская, , Svetlana Georgiyevna Tikhanovskaya, , , born 11 September 1982) is a Belarusian educator and the leader of the Bel ...

to transition the political power in Belarus in the aftermath the 2020 Belarusian protests and the disputed

2020 Belarusian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Belarus on Sunday, 9 August 2020. Early voting began on 4 August and ran until 8 August. Incumbent Alexander Lukashenko was announced by the Central Election Commission (CEC) to have won a sixth term in off ...

Career

Political activity

First press conference of the Coordination Council of Belarus

Belarusian Christian Democracy co-chair

In November 2019, Kovalkova announced her intention to run for President of Belarus at the next election. She said, "The authorities should see that there are more people who want change than those who are on the other side of the system. The opposition should have a task to unite people in a united tangible front for the authorities know that there are people who can dictate their conditions."

Post-election protests

In August 2020, Kovalkova joined the presidium of the Coordination Council which coordinates the transition of political power from president

Alexander Lukashenko Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (as transliterated from Russian; also transliterated from Belarusian as Alyaksand(a)r Ryhoravich Lukashenka;, ; rus, Александр Григорьевич Лукашенко, Aleksandr Grigoryevich Luk ...

, who claims to have won the

. Kovalkova served as the representative of

during the formation of the council. On 20 August 2020, Alexander Konyuk, the Prosecutor-General of Belarus, initiated criminal proceedings against the members of the Coordination Council under Article 361 of the Belarusian Criminal Code on the grounds of attempting to seize state power and harming national security. On 24 August 2020, Kovalkova and fellow presidium member,

Sergei Dylevsky Sergei A. Dylevsky ( be, Сяргей Дылеўскі; russian: Сергей Дылевский; born 1 September 1989) is a Belarusian engineer and, , a member of the presidium of the Coordination Council that aims to coordinate a transition ...

, were detained by the security services whilst attempting to support striking workers at the

Minsk Tractor Works Minsk Tractor Works ( be, Мінскі трактарны завод, Minski traktarny zavod; russian: Минский тракторный завод; MTZ) is a Belarusian agricultural machinery manufacturer with headquarters in Minsk, Belarus. M ...

factory. Kovalkova was sentenced to 10 days imprisonment the following day. On 5 September 2020, Kovalkova had to leave for

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, Poland, after her release from prison. She reported that authorities warned her of further arrests if she did not leave the country. Kovalkova was forcibly exiled by authorities from Belarus.

Awards and recognitions

In December 2020, Kovalkova was named among the representatives of the Democratic

Belarusian opposition The Belarusian opposition consists of groups and individuals in Belarus seeking to challenge, from 1988 to 1991, the authorities of Soviet Belarus, and since 1995, the leader of the country Alexander Lukashenko, whom supporters of the movement of ...

, honored with the Sakharov Prize by the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kovalkova, Olga Living people 1984 births Politicians from Minsk Belarusian dissidents Women activists Belarusian political prisoners Exiled politicians