Fighting for Democracy Exclusive in-depth interview with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya by journalist Luana Silighini Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya on resistance, exile, and the hope for a free Belarus What does it feel like to defy a dictator? What fears keep you awake when you lead a revolution from exile? In this exclusive in-depth interview, journalist Luana Silighini meets Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya – leader of the Belarusian democratic movement and candidate in the 2020 presidential election – for an intimate, unfiltered conversation. Beyond politics, Tsikhanouskaya recounts her emotions, her fears for her family, the solitude of exile, and the personal cost of becoming the face of resistance against the Lukashenka regime. In dialogue with Luana Silighini, she reveals how she confronts threats, how she explains the fight for democracy to her children, and what gives her the strength to carry on when freedom seems distant. Yet indispensable. For her and for her people. A substantive piece of journalism aimed at an international audience to understand both the political crisis in Belarus and its role on the European chessboard at this incandescent historical moment, and the personal cost of defending democracy in the heart of Europe where NATO and Putin’s Russia clash. Essential reading for those who follow international relations, human rights, women in politics, and the story behind the headlines, told through the reportage-style journalism that defines the author.