On August 22, a farewell ceremony was held in Warsaw for prominent Belarusian civic and political figure and 2006 presidential candidate Aliaksandr Milinkievič. Hundreds of Belarusians, diplomats, and representatives of the Polish government attended the service and memorial events.
The ceremony and service took place at the Archcathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist.
During the ceremony, Aliaksandr Milinkievič was posthumously awarded one of Poland’s highest state honors, the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (Krzyż Kawalerski Orderu Odrodzenia Polski), for his outstanding contribution to Belarus–Poland dialogue and his fight for democracy.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya attended the ceremony. In her farewell address, she highlighted Mr. Milinkievič’s exceptional role in bringing the democratic forces together, his commitment to Belarus’s European choice, and his decades of work for freedom. Aliaksandr Milinkievič leaves a lasting mark on Belarus’s modern history as a symbol of peaceful resistance, intellectual politics, and unwavering commitment to his principles.
He was buried at Powązki Military Cemetery, Poland’s principal national necropolis, where burials are reserved for exceptional cases.
Sviatlana Tsihanouskaya: “Dear family and loved ones of Aliaksandr,
Dear friends,
Szanowni polscy przyjaciele,
Excellencies, international friends,
You know, it still doesn’t feel real that Aliaksandr is no longer with us.
Until the very end, we hoped he would recover. That he would overcome his illness. We thought we would hear from him and see him again. We prayed with his family. We waited for a miracle…
I want to believe that now, from up there, he can see how many people have come here today to say goodbye. How many of his friends, colleagues, and students are here. And how deeply Belarusians loved him.
And it was impossible not to love Aliaksandr Milinkievič.
He was a person of rare intelligence and refinement. He had extraordinary empathy and respect for everyone. He knew how to listen and truly hear.
I remember that whenever I turned to him, he always started with the same words: “How can I help?” And he truly helped — in every way he could.
For him, there was never just “I”. There was “we”. There was “together”.
He had a rare talent for bringing people together — something so often lacking in politics.
He was the kind of politician people wanted to look up to.
Belarusians saw in him a decent and responsible leader. And they saw a different Belarus — normal, non-Soviet, European.
He never sought office. He simply went where he could be most useful and where he could contribute to the common cause. Because of this quality, he was often called our Václav Havel.
Many of those gathered in this room today became involved in civic work after 2006 — thanks to Mr. Milinkievič.
And without these people, the Belarusian uprising of 2020 would not have been possible.
Over the past week, many people have written that Mr. Milinkievič did a great deal for Belarus.
But that is not quite accurate.
He lived for Belarus. He breathed Belarus. For him, the personal and the national were inseparable.
And he loved our people deeply. That love made him so genuine and close to people — someone who belonged to people with very different backgrounds and views.
Aliaksandr was a man of deep faith. He supported the Catholic Church and Belarusian believers, especially those who faced repression.
But I think his faith was expressed most clearly in the way he treated people.
The Gospel says: “A good person brings good things out of the good stored up in their heart”.
He had so much of that goodness within him. Wisdom. Calm. Dignity. Optimism. And, of course, his deep Belarusianness.
And he generously shared all of this with others.
Even after being forced into exile, he continued working for Belarus. He worked with young people. He taught. He launched the Free Belarusian University in Warsaw.
Poland held a special place in Milinkievič’s life. He built bridges between our two peoples.
He was an honorary member of the Union of Poles in Belarus, supported the Polish minority and Polish schools in Hrodna.
Together with Dr. Jan Malicki, who is here with us today, and with the support of the Polish state, he launched the Konstanty Kalinowski Scholarship Program. Thanks to it, thousands of students received a European education.
Mr. Milinkievič did so much for Belarusian–Polish friendship. And the best testament to this is the number of Polish friends who have come here today to say goodbye to him.
Our heartfelt thanks to Poland — to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Sejm, the authorities of Warsaw, as well as the Prime Minister and the President — for honoring the memory of Aliaksandr Milinkievič. And for the support Poland has given Belarusians for so many years.
Dear friends,
Perhaps we will only fully understand the scale of Aliaksandr Milinkievič’s legacy years from now.
But already today, we can see how much he left behind.
It is the people he brought into the Belarusian cause.
The students to whom he passed on his knowledge.
The ideas he cultivated throughout his life. And the projects he launched.
But above all, it is his family. His wife, Ina. His children and grandchildren.
Allow me, on behalf of the Belarusian people, to express my deepest condolences to you.
Mr. Aliaksandr, thank you for everything you managed to accomplish.
Belarusians will miss you dearly.
We will continue your work.
And we will do everything to keep your memory alive and to ensure that your ideas find new followers.
And that the Belarus you dreamed of — free, prosperous, and European — finally becomes a reality.
May your memory live on”.
