Anatoly Lebedko

Who is Anatoly Lebedko?

Anatoly Lebedko is a Belarusian politician and the head of the United Civil Party of Belarus.

Born in the village of Triles, then part of the Stoŭbtsy Raion in the USSR's Minsk voblast, Lebedko emerged in the 1990s as one of the leading critics of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, whom Lebedko, along with other opposition leaders and many western governments, considers a dictator.

Lebedko's strident opposition to Lukashenka led to increasingly bitter confrontations with the Belarusian authorities through the late 1990s and into the 2000s. He was arrested numerous times for participating in unsanctioned protests and marches; was charged with libel against Lukashenko several times; and was beaten outside his home by masked men he alleges were connected to Lukashenko. Lebedko appears to have drawn particular ire for his relatively high visibility and frequent contact with groups outside Belarus, who Lukashenko accuses of meddling in Belarus's internal affairs.