Viera Cierliukievič (, also known as Vera Tserlukevich; 13 October 1941 – 31 December 2000) was one of the most prominent

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 ...

ian female political and trade union activists in the 1990s, identified among “heroic women in the history of Belarus”. Cierliukievič was born in the village of Novy Barok in Mahilioŭ region, Belarus. The village was abandoned as a result of the

Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the No. 4 reactor in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near the city of Pripyat in the north of the Ukrainian SSR in the Soviet Union. It is one of only two nucl ...

. Уладзімер Арлоў
ІМЁНЫ СВАБОДЫ. (Бібліятэка Свабоды. ХХІ стагодзьдзе.)
— 4-е выд., дап. — Радыё Свабодная Эўропа / Радыё Свабода, 2020. — 826 с.: іл. - Ст. 474-475 She was a factory worker 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 ...

. During the anti-Soviet strikes of 1991, which “went down in elarusianhistory as the most massive demonstration of workers in the struggle for their political rights”, Cierliukievič became one of the leaders of a protest movement at her place of work. Cierliukievič came to nationwide prominence at a rally at the main square of Minsk on 21 August 1991, the last day of the anti-Gorbachev August Coup. The event was organized by the

Belarusian Popular Front The Belarusian Popular Front "Revival" (BPF, be, Беларускі Народны Фронт "Адраджэньне", БНФ; ''Biełaruski Narodny Front "Adradžeńnie"'', ''BNF'') was a social and political movement in Belarus in the late 1 ...

to protest against attempts to take control of the country by reactionary Communist leaders and reverse democratic reforms. Cierliukievič addressed the protesters alongside key opposition leaders such as

Zianon Pazniak Zianon Stanislavavič Pazniak ( be, Зянон Станіслававіч Пазняк, born 24 April 1944) is a Belarusian nationalist politician, one of the founders of the Belarusian Popular Front and leader of the Conservative Christian ...

, Piatro Sadoŭski, and underlined the important role of workers in the democracy movement. In the second half of the 1990s, she actively participated in numerous protest actions against the regime of President

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

. As a result, she lost her job and endured a number of arrests and police brutality. She belonged to the Conservative Christian Party of the Belarusian People's Front. Cierliukievič died 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 ...

on 31 December 2000 after a battle with cancer. She was listed as one of five “heroic women of different periods of Belarusian history” by a famous Belarusian historian Uladzimir Arlou.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cerlukevic, Vera Belarusian trade unionists 1941 births 2000 deaths People from Mogilev Region Conservative Christian Party – BPF politicians