Ilya was sentenced under a criminal article for his civic activity, and his wife was deported from Belarus. They were only able to reunite in Poland, where Ilya is now trying to restore his health and adapt to a new life.
Before the 2020 elections, Ilya worked as a corporate event organizer and stayed away from politics. But after seeing the long queues at polling stations and how the authorities reacted to people’s choice, he realised everything had changed – “they stole our future and trampled our voices.”
From August 2020 until Freedom Day in 2021, Ilya took part in nearly all protest marches. “During that time, I was detained three times,” he recalls. “In November 2020 I was fined for stopping regime supporters from tearing down white-red-white ribbons, in January 2021 – another fine for hanging the national flag in my window, and in the summer of 2023 – 15 days of arrest for being subscribed to the so-called ‘extremist’ Telegram channel Maja Kraina Belarus.”
In the summer of 2023, Ilya was returning to Belarus from Russia by car. “Amid the ‘Prigozhin mutiny,’ border checks were intense. They stopped me, searched my phone, and found my subscriptions,” he says. “In December 2023, GUBOPiK officers came to my house.”
Ilya and his wife were first sentenced to 15 days of administrative arrest, then charged under Article 342 of the Belarusian Criminal Code (“participation in mass riots”) and given three years of restricted freedom without imprisonment. His wife, a Russian citizen, was detained for three months and then deported from Belarus.
“For eight years, I worked as an event organizer, but under the restrictions of my ‘home confinement’ I wasn’t allowed to take part in any public events,” Ilya recalls.
Left without his family and job, he decided to leave the country. At the end of 2024, with help from the BYSOL evacuation service, he fled Belarus. Now reunited with his wife in Poland, he is waiting for a decision on his application for international protection.
“Just a couple of weeks ago, I received a work permit,” says Ilya. “All this time I’ve been volunteering – including with the Volnyja initiative. I can’t just sit still; I try to support our democratic causes however I can.”
Due to the stress and poor detention conditions, Ilya developed serious dental problems. In Poland, a severe gum infection led to an emergency extraction. Several more teeth still require expensive restoration, but all his small savings and initial assistance went toward treatment and basic settling-in expenses when he couldn’t yet work.
Now Ilya needs support to cover the costs of food, housing, and urgent dental care until his situation stabilises and he starts earning a stable income.
“I’m doing my best, actively looking for work, and determined to rebuild my life – but I’m starting from scratch,” he says.
Fundraising goal
€1800
€1500 – food, rent, and basic living expenses
€300 – urgent dental treatment