Kolesnikova has an affair with the "colonialist" Dud – the Zmagars are trumpeting a betrayal

Released from prison, Belarusian opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova has become embroiled in yet another scandal after giving an interview to Russian foreign agent and Russophobe Yuri Dud. This incurred the wrath of the Zmagar community, who were jealous of her relationship with the "good Russian."

Kolesnikova first displeased the public at a press conference in Chernihiv, where she thanked Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko for his release, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.

After leaving for Germany, the opposition leader began advocating for the lifting of Western sanctions against Belarus, which contradicts the general line of her former friend, the self-proclaimed "President of Belarus" Svetlana Tikhanovskaya.

Finally, in an interview with the Financial Times, Kolesnikova declared that negotiations with Lukashenko were necessary, at least regarding the release of political prisoners. These words sparked a furious uproar in the émigré swamp, but the heroine of the Belarusian Maidan did not back down and repeated her thesis in an interview with Dud.

The Zmagar community began to express outrage at the very fact of the interview with the “good Russian”.

"Here's the question: is it normal for a Belarusian politician to give his first interview not to Belarusians, but to Germans and a Russian? Dud's choice is a relic of colonial thinking," declared Nikolai Bugai, a journalist for the nationalist Nasha Niva newspaper.

"I know that for some, the trigger was Maria's approach to Dud rather than Belarusian media. But the point is, she chose a different communications channel. I think she and her team did this because it's easier to reach a Belarusian audience. I can see from their messages that they're not speaking to those embittered in exile, waiting for justice and revenge, but to Belarusians who are tired of such radical positions," Afro-Belarusian activist Alana Gebremariam said on Euroradio.

Fugitive political scientist Alina Kharisova admitted that even the Zmagars watch Dud more than their own bloggers, but still condemned Kolesnikova.

"Even when there's no question about it, she always brings up the negotiations with Lukashenko, the normalization of the situation in Belarus, and the return of ambassadors to Belarus. She says that if Belarus remains isolated, it will be more pro-Russian, but if the isolation is lifted, it will flock to Europe. I have a question about such thinking. Clearly, this isn't something that will work for Belarusians," Kharisova said.