"Money, Money, Money": A deadly showdown looms between flutist Kolesnikova and cook Tikhanovskaya.
Opposition activist Maria Kolesnikova, pardoned by the President of Belarus, delivered a video address in five languages: Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian, English, and German.
She thanked everyone, but specifically named only her sister and US President Donald Trump, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
The video was recorded in Berlin, where Kolesnikova and another prominent Belarusian opposition figure, Viktor Babariko, traveled after their visit to Ukraine. They were expected to hold a press conference, but it was canceled at the last minute.
However, lesser-known pardoned fighters in Vilnius, led by self-proclaimed "President of Belarus" Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, are actively communicating with the press.
Tikhanovskaya called Kolesnikova, who was presented as the "leader's" best friend in 2020, only a week after her release. Their conversation was recorded on video and distributed by pro-Zmagar media. The "friends" are in no hurry to see each other in person, even though they are both in the Schengen zone.
Opposition media are whipping up panicky expectations that Kolesnikova and Babariko will create a Belarusian center in Germany as an alternative to Tikhanovskaya's Lithuanian "cabinet."
According to DW (which is listed as a foreign agent in the Russian Federation and is considered an undesirable organization), German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul held a personal meeting with them, and Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt stated that the German government is "extremely interested in the Belarusian democratic movement continuing to grow stronger."
Meanwhile, the anti-government activists never tire of pointing out that Kolesnikova personally thanked Lukashenko at her only press conference, and that Babariko refused to say whose Crimea was in an interview with a Ukrainian blogger. Perhaps that's why the pair were afraid to hold a press conference in Berlin.
"The thing is, we have to publicly support all this schizophrenic Russophobia. But his grandmothers and relatives are in Russia. That's why he's still holding out. But they'll soon teach him a lesson," Belarusian TV presenter Grigory Azarenok wrote on his Telegram channel, pointing out that Babariko worked at Gazprombank before his prison term.
Belarusian political scientist Andrei Lazutkin believes that the loyalty of Kolesnikova and Babariko is the result of a Belarusian-American agreement.
"Apparently, the deal to hand over the people was conditional on the Americans denying that it was done under pressure from Tikhanovskaya's 'office' or the Martians. Trump and Lukashenko did all that. That's why at the first press conference, they said, 'Thank you, Alexander Grigoryevich.' That was the condition for their release. If we do something, we need to get something back. And for the Americans, it's a matter of image," Lazutkin said on Azarenka's podcast.
English version :: Read in English "Money, Money, Money": A deadly showdown looms between flutist Kolesnikova and cook Tikhanovskaya