March 25 is the Belarusian anti-regime Freedom Day – the most important holiday for the country’s democratic movements. Its main celebrations, however, are usually held on the nearest weekend. This year, numerous Belarusian marches marking the anti-regime Freedom Day were held on Saturday across Poland, with the largest one taking place in Warsaw.
The main event in the Polish capital is scheduled to conclude in the late hours of Saturday, with a concert in Castle Square – and Belarusian opposition leader, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, is participating in the celebrations.
Long live Belarus! 🤍❤️🤍
Thank you to everyone who joined us today for the Freedom Day march in Warsaw.
And special thanks to 🇵🇱 Poland for its support for the Belarusian people and our fight for freedom.#StandWithBelarus pic.twitter.com/kDvMunpV3b
— Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya (@Tsihanouskaya) March 28, 2026
“It’s a symbol of our perseverance and striving for freedom” – she told Poland’s state news agency PAP. “For Belarusians, this day has become a symbol of striving for freedom and perseverance, because for the past 30 years, we have been taking to the streets of our country on this day” – Tsikhanouskaya noted, reminding that the regime in Minsk prevents this holiday from being officially celebrated domestically.
Freedom Day is Belarus’s unofficial independence day, celebrated by democratic circles since March 25, 1918, when the first Belarusian state – the Belarusian People’s Republic (BPR) – was proclaimed. Alexander Lukashenko’s government, however, has set the official independence celebrations for July 3 – the anniversary of the liberation of Minsk from German occupation by the Red Army in 1944 – which in reality turned out to be more of an occupant switch.
“Lukashenko hates everything that is truly Belarusian,” and “democratic values are completely alien to him,” added the Belarusian opposition leader, pointing out that the Belarusian dictator’s visit to North Korea, scheduled for March 25, was a highly symbolic gesture – because “while Belarusians are celebrating Freedom Day, Lukashenko was celebrating the Day of Oppression”.
Today, we mark Freedom Day and the International Day of Solidarity with ⚪️🔴⚪️.
More than a century ago, in 1918, Belarusians declared independence.
Now, Belarus lives under dictatorship—but our fight for freedom continues.
And with your support, we will win. #StandWithBelarus pic.twitter.com/ok4A51YyMJ
— Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya (@Tsihanouskaya) March 25, 2026
Tsikhanouskaya emphasized that for her compatriots in Poland and other countries, the celebration of Freedom Day is an opportunity to show that “Belarusians are a nation, not a regime and not Russia”. She also thanked for gestures of solidarity such as illuminating the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw in the colors of the Belarusian democracy – white-red-white.
The Belarusian opposition leader called on Poles and Ukrainians to join the event, emphasizing that a high turnout would translate into a better understanding of the current situation in her country, where freedom of speech and human rights are being brutally and systematically destroyed.
According to the Viasna Human Rights Center, there are currently 910 political prisoners held by Lukashenko’s regime in Belarus.
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Source: IAR, PAP