[1] Kalesnikava represented the united campaign of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, then she became a member of the presidium of the Coordination Council formed during the 2020 Belarusian protests in opposition to the regime of Alexander Lukashenko.
Kalesnikava was intimidated and pressured to leave the country, but while on neutral ground she got out of the car through the rear window, tore her passport to pieces and went back on foot.
[15][16][13] In the 2010s, Kalesnikava performed at concerts and was actively involved in organizing international cultural projects in Belarus and Germany,[17][18] for instance, she was one of the creators of 'Eclat' music festival.
[33] Street protests and meetings emerged across the country, demanding a repeat election and Lukashenko's dismissal,[34] which were brutally put down by law enforcement.
[38][39] She visited protest meetings as a private person; via mass media she asked both citizens and law enforcement to preserve peace.
[48][49] Meanwhile, Kalesnikava stated to the media that she by no means would leave Belarus because she felt it was deeply personal not to flee while her colleagues and friends were jailed under unlawful charges.
[10][50] On 31 August 2020, Kalesnikova announced the start of a new political party, Razam, that she intended to make a democratic tool to protect human rights in the country.
Later, witnesses stated that a woman was forcibly put into a black minivan by some unknown men in civilian clothes with covered faces.
[55] State-controlled TV-channels put around the story that Kalesnikava was detained at the border cross when trying to leave the country and move to her sister in Ukraine.
[56] In fact, as confirmed by the witnesses Rodnenkov and Kravtsov, in the neutral zone Kalesnikava managed to escape through the rear window of the car where she was kept, tore her passport to pieces, then headed back to Belarusian border.
[67][68] Deputy Head of Department of Home Affairs Gennadiy Kazakevich personally told Kalesnikava that She will be in prison without teeth for 25 years to sew clothes for the security forces.
[75] On 16 September, the Investigative Committee of Belarus charged Kalesnikava with "actions aimed at undermining Belarusian national security" using the media and the Internet.
[76] On 10 October 2020, Kalesnikava's attorney Aliaksandar Pylchanka announced that Lukashenko requested a meeting with her to discuss changes to the Constitution, to which she refused in an expression of solidarity with other imprisoned dissidents.
[81] In the end of the month, on 27 January, the Investigative Committee refused to open a criminal case against law enforcement officers who threatened to kill her.
[68] On 12 February, Kalesnikava and Maxim Znak were charged with "conspiracy to seize state power in an unconstitutional manner" and "establishing and leading an extremist organization".
[91] Starting 4 August 2021, after almost 11 months in custody, Kalesnikava and Maxim Znak stood trial behind closed doors in the Minsk Regional Court.
[93][94][95] Though the authorities promised to make the proceedings public, in fact the courtroom was filled with strangers; foreign ambassadors who wanted to support Kalesnikava and Znak weren't allowed inside.
[99] In a written interview, Kalesnikava told the media that in jail she was offered many times to make a 'Protasevich-like' film recording with confessions and to admit guilt for her actions.
In August 2023, after no news about Kalesnikava for six months, 13 cultural figures wrote an open letter to Lukashenko demanding information with no answer.
The event was attended by former German Interior Minister Gerhart Baum, Kolesnikova's sister Tatsiana Khomich and former lawyer Lyudmila Kazak.
[106] Human rights activists and international community condemn Kalesnikava's sentence, the case is unanimously considered to be fabricated.