Maria Zaitseva went viral on the internet in August 2020, after a photo of her taken during the Belarusian protests circulated showing her sitting bloodied after being injured while taking part in the protests against Alexander Lukashenko's reelection, internationally widely seen as illegitimate.

On the evening of 9 August, she was among the front of the protesters in downtown Minsk facing off against security forces, where she described standing peacefully shouting.

[3] The attack left Zaitseva permanently deaf in one ear, and she also suffered a brain hematoma, as well as severe injuries to her eyes and face.

[3] When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, she initially voluntereed to help Ukrainian refugees in the Czech Republic.

[3] Following her death, Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said that Zaitseva "gravely injured during the 2020 Belarus protests, gave her life for freedom" and that she was an "icon of our revolution".