Konstanty Kalinowski Scholarship Program

The Konstanty Kalinowski Scholarship Program of the Republic of Poland under the Patronage of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland[1] (Belarusian: Стыпендыяльная праграма Ураду Рэспублікі Польшча імя Кастуся Каліноўскага пад патранатам Старшыні Рады Міністраў РП, romanized: Stypiendyjalnaja prahrama Uradu Respubliki Polszcza imia Kastusia Kalinouskaha pad patranatam Starszyni Rady Ministrau RP)[2] is a Polish state aid program for Belarusian youth established in March 2006.

[1]The program was named after Konstanty Kalinowski, born in 1838, a participant in the January Uprising, a representative of the insurgent government in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, who was hanged by the Russian authorities in Vilnius in 1864.

Additionally, scholarship recipients receive dictionaries, encyclopedias, books on culture and history, as well as a sum of 400 PLN for miscellaneous expenses at the beginning of the preparatory course.

Within the framework of the course, the scholars also participated in classes and lectures on the history and culture of Poland, Belarus, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Central and Eastern Europe, as well as contemporary international issues, with an emphasis on European Union-related matters.

[1] In the summer of 2006, the participants also embarked on a three-week tour of Poland, during which they visited 22 cities, including Gniezno, Poznań, Wrocław, Kraków, Lublin, Białystok, Gdańsk, Toruń, Łódź, and Częstochowa.

The selection of scholarship recipients was based on recommendations issued by a Belarusian unregistered organization called the Social Committee for the Defense of the Repressed "Solidarity", led by Ina Kulej.

The highest number of individuals commenced their studies in Warsaw (102), followed by Białystok (30), Wrocław (21), Kraków (16), Gdańsk (14), Pułtusk (10), Biała Podlaska (10), Poznań (9), Lublin (8), Katowice (7), Łódź (6), Toruń (5), Bydgoszcz (2), Legnica (1), and Szczecin (1).

[10] On 29 August 2007, the list of 63 new Kalinowski Program scholarship holders was approved, including 44 students expelled from Belarusian universities for political reasons and the remaining 19 individuals who suffered for their political beliefs in other ways – activists of the BNF Party, former students of the only Belarusian-language Jakub Kolas High School in Minsk closed by the authorities, and family members of repressed individuals.

[16] Due to irregularities in the recruitment process for the first year, a certain number of individuals who had little actual connection to the Belarusian democratic movement ended up on the list of scholarship holders, and their behavior often did not correspond with the seriousness of the Kalinowski Program.

[17] Polish representatives from universities, administrations, and NGOs, who participated in official meetings with the scholarship holders, emphasized in their comments their surprise that many students did not speak the Belarusian language and had no knowledge of the history and politics of their country.

Shortly afterward, other scholarship holders identified a boy in their group who, during recruitment, sold fake certificates of participation in the Jeans Revolution in October Square in Minsk for $30.

On 21 August 2006, while the program participants were on a tour around the country, independent media reported that Vitaut consistently got drunk, acted like a hooligan, and caused problems from the beginning of his stay in Poland.

[19] The next day, Alaksandar Milinkievič called this information "untrue", and his press secretary, Pawel Mazheika, explained that Vitaut did indeed break the rules – he overslept mandatory sightseeing during the tour.

Ina Kulej stated that she accepts criticism from Polish partners as objective,[17] while Alaksandar Milinkievič admitted that:[19] All program participants must be on equal terms.

Anton Tsyalezhnikau from the Movement for Democracy in Belarus [pl] stated that such problems should be resolved within the program and should not reach the media, as they provide fodder for Belarusian government propaganda.

Uladzimir Mitniewicz from bel.ini assessed that rebellious and defiant behavior is an understandable, and even desirable trait among individuals who have fought against the authorities and who are expected to lead revolutions in the future.

Additionally, since Belarus officially does not acknowledge that scholarship holders are studying, a significant portion of male students is sought after for evading military service.

Wiktoria Chakimawa, a scholarship holder from the first admission, believes that many students find good jobs in Poland and decide to stay permanently:[20] I understand them perfectly.

Initially, suicide was considered the most probable cause of death, supported by the fact that on the day of the tragedy, the student deleted all his accounts from social media websites.

[24] It is not uncommon for students studying in Poland under the Kalinowski Program to complain about delays in scholarship payments, sometimes lasting one or even two months, which consequently leads to problems with paying for dormitory accommodation.

[14] A fragment of the letter, translated into Polish with the names of the scholarship holders replaced by initials, was made public: Take a prostitute who will engage in sexual intercourse with Malicki and collect compromising material.

The 20-year-old student of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering [pl] at the Warsaw University of Technology revealed that in early 2006, he was recruited by the State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus as an informant under the codename "Vector" through blackmail.

According to Jauhien Skrabutan, one of the scholarship holders, Mikhailau's disclosure was a State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus' provocation aimed at destabilizing the program.

On one hand, it was argued that a former State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus agent had no right to benefit from the scholarship for repressed opposition members.

There were also voices that Mikhailau should first seek help from the program management rather than giving an interview to the newspaper, suggesting that his only motivation was an unhealthy desire for fame.

After careful consideration, the program authorities decided to leave Uladzislau Mikhailau on the list of scholarship holders and to provide him with support,[1] including a psychologist.

[29] The student repeatedly complained that he was being followed and harassed by the State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus, and later he also spoke about the Polish and American secret services.

On March 23, shortly after returning to Belarus, state television conducted a lengthy interview with him, during which Mikhailau told a series of lies about the program, living conditions, and education of the scholarship holders in Poland, as well as about alleged coercion to participate in "anti-Belarusian actions".

[34] The activity of the Kalinowski Program scholarship recipients for democracy and human rights in Belarus, conducted in the conditions of emigration from Polish territory, is hindered due to the significant dispersion of students across the country.

On February 28, an open letter to Prime Minister Donald Tusk was published, requesting action to protect the white-red-white flag from desecration in Poland.