Another Take: You can run from Belarus, but can you hide?
The Take
Al Jazeera
4.7 • 748 Ratings
🗓️ 25 January 2025
⏱️ 25 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Every Saturday, we revisit a story from the archives. This originally aired on August 11, 2021. None of the dates, titles, or other references from that time have been changed.
One year after a contested election and many protests, the movement to free Belarus from President Alexander Lukashenko has boiled over into neighboring states. This also means Belarusians around the world might fear the long arm of Lukashenko’s rule. Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya was quick to escape, but others faced a tragic end. What is happening in Belarus and how much power does Lukashenko hold beyond its borders?
In this episode:
- Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, Belarusian Olympic Sprinter
- Step Vassen, Al Jazeera Correspondent
- Hanna Liubakova (@HannaLiubakova), Journalist, Non-Resident Fellow at The Atlantic Council (@AtlanticCouncil)
Episode credits:
This episode was updated by Sarí el-Khalili. The original production team was Amy Walters, Dina Kesbeh, Alexandra Locke, Negin Owleie, Priyanka Tilve, Ney Alvarez, Tom Fenton, and our host, Malika Bilal.
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our engagement producers are Adam Abou-Gad and Vienna Maglio. Aya Elmileik is lead of audience engagement. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer, and Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.
Connect with us:
@AJEPodcasts on Instagram, X, Facebook, Threads and YouTube
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Al Jazeera Podcasts. |
| 0:07.0 | Hi, it's Saril Khalil, a senior producer with the take, back with another take, where we bring back an episode from the past. |
| 0:19.0 | Today we're in Belarus, where people are about to head to the polls |
| 0:22.5 | to elect their next president. Among the five candidates is Alexander Lukashenko, the man who's |
| 0:29.5 | been in power since 1994. He's now seeking his seventh term. Belarus's opposition calls him |
| 0:37.4 | Europe's last dictator. The last vote back in |
| 0:41.8 | 2020 sparked nationwide protests that lasted a year, forcing many to flee the country. One dramatic |
| 0:50.8 | escape came from Olympic sprinter Christina Timanoskaya. |
| 0:55.0 | In 2021, she shared with us her story of narrowly fleeing while competing in the Tokyo Olympics |
| 1:01.2 | the year before. Here's that episode now, but remember, none of the dates or other references |
| 1:07.2 | have changed from August 11, 2021 when it originally aired. |
| 1:19.7 | When an athlete competes at the Olympics, it's not just their dreams on the line. |
| 1:34.3 | My name is Christina Timonovska and at the Olympics I took part in the 100-meter dash and also was said to take part in the 200 meters. |
| 1:37.3 | It's the dreams of their country as well. |
| 1:43.3 | Unfortunately, this year not a lot of good things happen in Belarus. A lot of people |
| 1:49.7 | were in prison, many of them were under pressure. Many lost their jobs. And this year, people |
| 1:55.9 | have started to be more and more afraid to express anything. But for Christina Tonovskaya, her biggest dream, to win the 200-meter race in Tokyo, |
| 2:06.7 | didn't turn out like she planned. |
| 2:10.3 | They came to my room and said that an order had come in to remove me from the Olympics |
| 2:14.9 | and not let me compete in the 200 meters. |
| 2:18.9 | Christina Timanofskaya tells us her story, |
| 2:22.3 | what happened at the Tokyo Olympics and how she narrowly escaped. |
... |
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