Belarusian Civil Society and Opposition from Abroad in the Context of the War in Ukraine: Opportunities and Obstacles

The political crisis in Belarus 2020 caused mass protests that resulted in the appearance of new diverse social movements and grassroots initiatives and the activation of existing civil society organisations. After mass repression began in late 2020, many civil society activists and CSOs left the country and continued their activities abroad. A substantial part of Belarusian civil society organisations and activists moved mainly to Ukraine, Lithuania, Poland, and Georgia and found themselves in new environments with their own specific rules and challenges. Nevertheless, they have been able to create an established opposition structure; re-establish or found new civil society organisations and media; and create physical and virtual platforms and spaces for the newly emerging pro-democratic Belarusian diaspora which have also enabled them to engage in the two-way process of sending political remittances to audiences in Belarus itself and receiving them in return. Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, these organisations and activists found themselves citizens of a country which acts as a de facto partner in Russia's military aggression against Ukraine. We use interviews with representatives of Belarusian opposition and civil society conducted in 3 countries to explore the current state of Belarusian civil society in exile and the problems and opportunities they encounter. We also analyse the reactions of Belarusian civil and political activists and exiled opposition to the war in Ukraine. We begin with a description of the process of relocation and (re-)establishment of Belarusian civil society and political opposition abroad and proceed to analyse their activities and the challenges they face. Then, we discuss their reactions to Russia's military aggression. Finally, we summarise our findings related to the transnational experience of activism and the war context for Belarusian civil society.