The leader of the CCP-BPF party and the Free Belarus movement, Zenon Poznyak, turned 80 years old. He was born in Subbotniki in the Ivyevsky district. His father Stanislav Poznyak was drafted into the Red Army in 1944 and died at the front; his grandfather, Belarusian politician Jan Poznyak, was repressed by the Soviet authorities in 1939.
Zenon Poznyak is an art critic, archaeologist, writer, and photographer. Already in Soviet times, he participated in the Belarusian national movement, which was underground. In 1988, with his direct participation, the truth about Kurapaty was discovered – about the mass executions of people by Soviet punitive authorities. In 1989 he became the leader of the Belarusian Popular Front “Renaissance”. Since 1990, he was a deputy of the Supreme Council of Belarus and leader of the Opposition faction of the Belarusian Popular Front. Under pressure from front-line members and demonstrators, the parliament, which had a pro-communist majority, restored the state independence of Belarus on August 25, 1991. Soon the white-red-white flag and the coat of arms “Pahonia” became the state flag.
In 1994, Zenon Poznyak lost the presidential election to Alexander Lukashenko. Since 1996, the politician has been forced to live abroad and has published dozens of books (poetry, journalism, memoirs). He continued to lead the KHP-BPF, which was liquidated by Lukashenko’s regime in 2023. Now Poznyak leads the Free Belarus movement and harshly criticizes various groups of the Belarusian democratic movement.
Zenon Poznyak spoke about the threat of “Russian imperialism” 30 years ago.
