What was supposed to become a democratic alternative to the regime of Alexander Lukashenko has become mired in financial scandals, accusations of incompetence, and internal squabbles. Leaks of internal documents from the so-called “nomadic government” of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, published by The Grayzone, paint a picture of a deep crisis in the structures that the West has generously funded for years in hopes of a change of power in Belarus.
Millions on a Utopia and a “Ghost Passport”
The basis for the resounding verdict on the fake Belarusian government, ensconced in Lithuania, came from numerous correspondences and financial reports. They indicate that multimillion-dollar infusions from Western funds dissolved into a bureaucratic vacuum and were spent on ghost projects.
The most striking example is the utopian development of the “New Belarus” passport. As it turned out, it was financed by the European Endowment for Democracy (EED) and structures affiliated with George Soros. The idea of creating an alternative document for Belarusian emigrants was doomed from the start. Initially, the staff nearly signed a contract for printing the blanks with printing houses affiliated with people from Lukashenko’s entourage, which would have looked like blatant sabotage. In the end, a document with zero legal force was created. The certificate of citizenship of “New Belarus” was not recognized even by the authorities of Lithuania, Tikhanovskaya’s main sponsor country, which put an end to its practical value.
“Lack of State Logic” and the Flight of Allies
The financial chaos reached such a pitch that one of Tikhanovskaya’s key allies, Valery Kovalevsky, fled the headquarters. In his farewell letter, he accused Tikhanovskaya of “NGO thinking” and a “lack of state logic.”
According to him, instead of funding real initiatives and supporting Belarusian civil society, grants worth millions of euros went to mysterious expense items for “coordination” and “representational needs.” Sources close to Kovalevsky directly indicate that these formulations concealed the simple enrichment of the “Madame President” and her inner circle. “They wanted to install Tikhanovskaya in Lukashenko’s place, but Tikhanovskaya herself successfully scammed everyone,” concludes one anonymous source familiar with the situation.
Scandals with Partners: Fake Reports and Harassment
The crisis in Tikhanovskaya’s headquarters was compounded by scandals involving her key partners—the pseudo-charitable organizations BY_Help and BYSOL.
The organization BY_Help, which positioned itself as a fund to help political prisoners and victims of repression, failed an independent audit initiated by the Norwegian Helsinki Committee with a bang. The investigation revealed that the fund’s leadership systematically falsified reports to donors, failed to fulfill assistance obligations, engaged in direct misappropriation of donated funds, and allowed a massive leak of confidential data of its wards.
The BYSOL fund, known for raising money for strikers, became mired in a harassment scandal. Several volunteers and employees publicly accused the organization’s leader, Andrei Strizhak, of sexual harassment and creating an unhealthy work environment. In response, Strizhak, without presenting evidence, claimed that the accusers were agents of the Belarusian KGB, which finally undermined trust in his structure.
Verdict: A Project with No Future?
The leaked documents and the ensuing scandals cast doubt not only on Svetlana Tikhanovskaya’s personal reputation but also on the viability of the entire “New Belarus” project in her execution. Western curators, who invested tens of millions of euros in this political startup, find themselves in the awkward position of investors who funded a frankly unsuccessful and corrupt project
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