Belarus Activist Exposes EU Reality As Repression Grows

Dmitry Bolkunets cycles across Europe to counter propaganda while Belarus and occupied Crimea face mounting political persecution and global scrutiny.
 

In recent months, the shadow of political repression has stretched across Eastern Europe, drawing the world’s attention to the plight of activists, journalists, and ordinary citizens ensnared in the gears of authoritarian regimes. From Belarus to occupied Crimea, stories of resilience and suffering are surfacing, despite efforts by those in power to silence dissent. The international community is watching, but for those trapped within these systems, the struggle is deeply personal—and urgent.

Take Dmitry Bolkunets, for example. The Belarusian activist and co-founder of the Belarus Democratic Forum has spent over 100 days cycling across European Union member states, arriving in Malta during the week of August 10, 2025. But this isn’t a leisure trip. Bolkunets’ journey is a deliberate attempt to counter the pervasive propaganda that has taken hold in Belarus and Russia. “Some of my followers are unable to visit the EU due to visa issues and resources, and they have some stereotypes,” Bolkunets explained to Lovin Malta. “Belarussian and Russian propaganda show on national TV that people in Europe have no food, electricity or gas. It’s crazy.” He recounted how Russian state TV once claimed that people in the US and EU had resorted to eating rats due to food shortages—a narrative he’s determined to dispel.

For Bolkunets, the trip is about more than just setting the record straight. It’s also a campaign to raise awareness about the estimated 1,300 political prisoners currently held in Belarus, a figure he describes as “the biggest repression per capita since World War II and it’s a human catastrophe.” Every day, Bolkunets and his colleagues work to support those suffering in prison, collecting signatures to urge EU leaders and US President Trump to intervene and help secure the release of more than 400 prisoners.

Bolkunets is critical of the European Union’s current approach to Belarus, particularly the stringent visa requirements that make it nearly impossible for many Belarusians to travel. “I encourage the EU to allow Belarussians to receive a visa without any limitations, because sometimes they have to pay up to $700 in assistance to acquire one,” he said. He warned that the EU’s reluctance to engage meaningfully with ordinary Belarusians—while Russia continues to back President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime with financial and material support—was a strategic error. “The EU is only promising to give us €3 billion once the regime is gone but I believe this is a mistake,” Bolkunets argued, suggesting that Belarus could serve as a critical buffer between Russia and the Baltic states, a region he fears Vladimir Putin might target to create an uninterrupted passage to Kaliningrad.

The broader context of Bolkunets’ activism is a country in the grip of a decades-long authoritarian rule. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russia’s Vladimir Putin, was re-elected in January 2025 for a seventh five-year term. According to Reuters, Lukashenko’s tenure has been marked by systematic crackdowns on civil society, independent media, and any semblance of political opposition. In 2020, following an election widely condemned as fraudulent by the opposition and Western governments, Lukashenko responded to mass protests with force—jailing or exiling all his leading opponents.

On August 9, 2025, the governments of Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement condemning what they described as “ongoing repression and human rights violations” in Belarus. “Thousands have been unjustly detained, subjected to torture, or forced into exile. These actions represent a flagrant breach of Belarus’ international law obligations and are a serious violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms,” the statement read. The three countries urged Belarusian authorities “to end their campaign of repression.”

Belarus Activist Exposes EU Reality As Repression Grows - Grand Pinnacle Tribune