Welcome to Hard Talk on the BBC World Service with me, Stephen Sacker.

My guest today is an artist and activist focused on a political struggle unfolding more than a thousand miles from her home.

That is because for the last decade, Natalia Calliada has been living in exile,

regarded as an enemy of the state in her native Belarus because of her commitment

to artistic freedom and her determination to challenge the authoritarian regime of Alexander

Lukashenko. Back in 2005, Natalia and her husband founded the Belarus Free Theater. They created a small group of like-minded

artists determined to bring independent theatre to a population raised on a diet of state-approved

culture. That meant underground production staged in factories, village halls and people's homes. It also

meant constant harassment from the

regime's secret police. Ultimately, Natalia and her family fled into exile. Now, Belarus is in the

grip of a mass uprising against Lukashenko's rule, fueled by disgust at what is widely regarded

as a rigged election. The country is poised on a knife edge.

People power pitied against a dictator and a security state seemingly determined to hang on to power.

Minsk is the stage for a real life high-stakes drama. How will it end? Well, Natalia Kaliada joins me now. Welcome to Hard Talk.

Thank you to have me here. We've seen extraordinary scenes for more than two weeks now in Belarus.

Masses of people, protesters on the streets. But President Lukashenko, he hasn't blinked, he hasn't

buckled. Are you surprised?

Oh, he blinked.

And, you know, like I'm sure you saw a number of days ago when he was at his helicopter,

fully equipped with a rifle.

And he presented himself as a complete joke to the world.

So we need to understand that he's in that

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