Uładzimir Hančaryk

Hančaryk was born on 29 April 1940 in Lahojsk, a town outside of Minsk, in the Byelorussian SSR. During his childhood World War II was in its midst, and eventually his family lived in a dugout after their home caught on fire.^[1] His mother and father had five children, and his father was part of the partisans of the Minsk region before becoming part of a reconnaissance platoon.^[1] His father, Nikolai, was nearly killed for his activities and spent time in the forests before reuniting with the family, when soon afterward his mother was killed.^[1]

Beginning in 1986, Hančaryk was a chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus, which was then called the Belarusian National Council of Trade Unions.^[2]

Hančaryk was the only opposition candidate who stood against incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko in the 2001 Belarusian presidential election.^[3] His campaign was supported by fellow opposition candidate Siamion Domash, who withdrew his candidacy and urged his supporters to vote for Hančaryk.^[4] Many considered Hančaryk to be the best candidate for the opposition because of his previous government experience and his centrist stances.^[5] Hančaryk ultimately lost the election by Lukashenko by a sixty percent margin, according to official results from the Central Election Commission.^[6] However, the elections were considered fraudulent by independent observers.^[7]

Later on, commenting on the 2020 Belarusian presidential election, he stated that Viktar Babaryka was a strong candidate, adding that everyone was tired of Lukashenko and that the government was trying to smear the candidates.^[8]