{"id":157778,"date":"2025-09-30T12:28:48","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T09:28:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/157778\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T13:35:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T13:35:32","slug":"cichanouskis-manners-at-his-wifes-event-in-new-york-draw-backlash","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/157778\/","title":{"rendered":"Cichano\u016dski\u2019s manners at his wife\u2019s event in New York draw backlash"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Siarhiej Cichano\u016dski\u2019s behavior during a September 24 meeting with Belarusians in New York, alongside his wife and opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja, sparked a storm of criticism on social media. His domineering manner struck many as out of place, especially in a society that has suffered for 31 years under the rule of Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka \u2014 the embodiment of male chauvinism.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n \"\"\n
\n \n
\n (\u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja's office)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Belarusians fed up with male chauvinism<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka has long cultivated an image of patronizing respect for women, offering them compliments on International Women\u2019s Day or in other ceremonial settings. Yet in his working meetings he habitually addresses officials as \u201cmuzhiki\u201d<\/em> (men), signaling that, to him, women are secondary and unfit for serious responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has often repeated that the Belarusian presidency \u201cis not for a woman.\u201d On September 17, speaking to his ideology officers, he once again stressed that only a \u201cstrong man who has smelled gunpowder\u201d could lead the country \u2014 despite claiming to \u201cimmensely respect women.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For three decades, under his command, Belarus has endured financial crises, quarrels with neighbors and, in 2022, the use of its territory for Russia\u2019s assault on Ukraine. One cannot help but wonder whether a more pragmatic and less ego-driven leader \u2014 perhaps a woman \u2014 might have avoided such calamities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From populist firebrand to disappointed supporters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Cichano\u016dski first rose to prominence in 2020 with fiery speeches that reminded some of \u0141uka\u0161enka in 1994 \u2014 full of energy, anger and populist flair. He mobilized disillusioned voters and prepared to run for president, but his campaign was cut short by arrest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Released from prison on June 21 this year, Cichano\u016dski immediately declared that he would deliver a \u201cpowerful blow to \u0141uka\u0161ism\u201d within three weeks, asking Belarusians to donate \u20ac200,000. When the money failed to materialize \u2014 his plan being vague and reckless \u2014 he lashed out at the very people he sought to lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This mirrored \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s own style: blaming \u201clittle people\u201d for buying dollars during currency crashes or for failing to plant potatoes at their dachas. Instead of reconnecting with reality after five years behind bars, most of them in isolation, Cichano\u016dski rushed headlong back into politics with the same swagger and impatience as before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A na\u00efve politician in a harsher era<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I recall seeing him in late 2019 or early 2020, filming an opposition gathering in downtown Minsk for his YouTube channel. Though not part of the discussion, he interrupted with his own campaign ideas \u2014 some strikingly na\u00efve. For instance, he proposed that every opponent of the regime light a candle in their window: \u201cThen we\u2019ll see how many of us there are, and in the end we\u2019ll win.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The seasoned opposition figures present \u2014 among them Siarhiej Kaliakin \u2014 responded with sad, ironic smiles. They had spent decades devising strategies, only to watch a newcomer propose symbolic gestures with boundless self-confidence. Cichano\u016dski seemed then, as now, a political neophyte who mistook bravado for strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nostalgia for 2020<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka saw in Cichano\u016dski a genuine threat in 2020, perhaps because the blogger\u2019s style resembled his own youthful populism. That is why Cichano\u016dski was swiftly arrested at the start of his campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet in exile today, he appears stuck in that moment. He tries to revive the same rhetoric and methods that worked five years ago, ignoring how much harsher the environment has become. Inside Belarus, repression has crushed public initiative. Abroad, exiles focus on survival, not grand campaigns. Above all, they lack real tools to influence events at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka clings to Soviet nostalgia; Cichano\u016dski clings to the spirit of 2020. Both are trying to turn back the clock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In just three months of freedom, Cichano\u016dski has already generated controversy: alarming Lithuanians with remarks they interpreted as separatist and boasting that he would \u201cgrill \u0141uka\u0161enka like a steak.\u201d Such talk begs the question: is he fighting for democracy, or simply for the thrill of confrontation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Look, she\u2019s just my wife!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Initially, Cichano\u016dski promised to report on his achievements after 100 days, then a year. But patience is not his virtue. \u201cI am a man of action, fire, a center in myself,\u201d he proclaimed. \u201cI don\u2019t need to join some party and wait for their meetings. I am the engine, the locomotive \u2014 that\u2019s why people followed me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That self-image exploded into public view in New York. Despite repeated assurances from Cichano\u016dskaja\u2019s team that he was not involved in her political work, he openly ordered her and her staff around. He told her to cancel a scheduled CNN<\/em> interview, insisting that the meeting with ordinary Belarusians was more important. He dismissed CNN<\/em> as a poor choice \u2014 an apparent jab at her adviser Franak Via\u010dorka, who had arranged it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some attendees were further unsettled when he tried to embrace his wife mid-event. At a political gathering, such gestures do not read as tender, but as possessive. The message seemed clear: she may be your leader, but she is my wife.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A gift to the regime?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Over the past five years, \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja has transformed from homemaker to experienced politician and diplomat. Her husband, by contrast, appears unable to shed the rough edges of a populist agitator. She handled the awkward situation in New York with patience, but her husband\u2019s conduct inevitably cast a shadow on her team\u2019s credibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His later explanations suggested little self-awareness, as he tried to deflect blame rather than acknowledge fault. Unless Cichano\u016dskaja establishes clear boundaries for her husband\u2019s role, she risks the perception that he controls not only her but also her political movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, \u0141uka\u0161enka and KGB chief Ivan Tertel may be watching with satisfaction. If their decision to release Cichano\u016dski was meant to inject division, ego and disruption into the opposition camp, early signs suggest their plan is succeeding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n
\n \"\"