Belarusian dissident says she read 700 books in jail
Maria Kolesnikova, a prominent figure in the Belarusian opposition movement, says she read more than 700 books while imprisoned for five years under the government of longtime leader Alexander Lukashenko.
“With books, you never feel alone,” Kolesnikova told the DPA news agency on Saturday after her trip to the western German city of Aachen to receive the International Charlemagne Prize. he said.
He received the award in 2022, but could not accept it because he was detained in Belarus at that time.
“There’s always a dialogue, a discussion, with the writers. You’re always in great company; there’s Shakespeare, Goethe, Hannah Arendt.”
Kolesnikova, who was released late last year, said she spent two and a half years in solitary confinement while detained in Belarus and was not allowed any contact with the outside world for nearly three years.
“This means I haven’t received any letters, phone calls or packages from my family. I just haven’t heard anything from my family and friends and they haven’t heard anything from me either.”
Kolesnikova, a trained flautist, was a leading figure in the mass protests that erupted after Lukashenko declared victory in the widely disputed 2020 election.
The demonstrations were violently suppressed and thousands of opposition supporters, including Kolesnikova, were imprisoned.
He was released along with more than 120 other political prisoners in December under pressure from the US government and has been living in Berlin ever since.
Kolesnikova said that while she was in solitary confinement in prison, the loneliness allowed her to focus entirely on her books.
“I was never in prison in my mind or soul; only my body was in the cell. I always felt free, and that kept me going all these years.”
The award Kolesnikova received on Saturday is named after Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne, who once ruled much of Western Europe from Aachen.
Previous recipients include French President Emmanuel Macron, former US president Bill Clinton, Pope Francis and John Paul II, and former German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Kolesnikova was recognized for her “extraordinary courage” in the fight for democratic rights, free elections and respect for human rights.
with AP
