Just a year ago, such ordinary family weekdays were impossible for Seviarynets. The politician spent five and a half years behind bars. He was detained in June 2020, sentenced to seven years of imprisonment, and in 2023, transferred to a prison regime. On December 13, 2025, Seviarynets was released along with other political prisoners and forcibly removed from Belarus. He first went to Ukraine and from there made his way to Vilnius.
While Pavel was behind bars, Frantsishak managed to go to first grade in Minsk. His father missed his first September 1st, getting acquainted with the school, and his first lessons.
Without hesitation, just two weeks after Pavel’s release, Volha moved to Vilnius with their son. In the middle of the school year, Frantsishak started a new gymnasium. Pavel gradually joined his son’s school life, and this year for the first time, he was able to go through the entire pre-school journey – from summer activities to the first September lessons.
“I was most involved in physical training”
The main role in preparing Frantsishak for second grade fell to his mother, Volha. They gradually studied Belarusian, Lithuanian, and English, and read the Bible every day.
The father had his own area of responsibility:
— I was most involved in physical training and upbringing. Frantsishak and I do morning exercises, workouts, push-ups every morning, — Pavel recounts.
He admits: Volha still handles most of the school activities and preparations. While her husband was imprisoned, she was the one raising their son and preparing him for school, so now she better understands his needs and knows all the organizational details.
— Volhechka does a lot for Frantsishak, she feels and understands him very well. She raised him and prepared him for school herself for several years. So, Frantsishak has another very capable and great teacher, — says Pavel.
Павялічыць
Pavel with his family near the Orthodox Cathedral of the Theotokos in Vilnius, built during Algirdas’s time. Photo: Seviarynets’ Facebook
Now the family divides responsibilities equally: one takes their son to school, the other picks him up after classes. Pavel also supervises Bible reading and joint prayer, and does physical exercises with his son.
— I currently have a heavy workload with book-related, party-related, and other matters. But from time to time, I can prepare something to take with me, pack it. Primarily, Volhechka dedicates more time to this, — says the politician.
— The teachers at the gymnasium are very good. Our class teacher is simply golden. I know that the Association of Belarusian Parents of Lithuania, to which we belong, plans to publish its own textbooks in various disciplines in Belarusian.
“Mom, we’re home already”
Before the move, Frantsishak studied in Minsk. According to his father, he likes the school in Vilnius more. Perhaps, Pavel ponders, it’s also because the boy experienced the main stress last year when he first started first grade. Now he already knows the school, the teacher, and his classmates.
The start of the school year at the gymnasium was made soft: instead of immediately putting children behind textbooks, they were given time to get reacquainted and accustomed to each other after the holidays.
— The first week is more playful. Here, children are gently introduced to the school year: the first few days are physical education and music in the park, ceramics at the Belarusian House, cinema, holidays. Children simply get used to each other after the summer, and only then does the learning process begin, — Pavel describes.
Frantsishak also adapted to the new city and life faster than the adults:
— While Volhechka might still sigh: “I want to go home”, — Frantsishak replies: “Mom, we are home already! Everything is wonderful here, Vilnius is great.” He adapted to life in Vilnius very easily.
Павялічыць
Frantsishak Seviarynets with his mother Volha during Pavel Seviarynets’ book presentation in Vilnius. Photo: Nasha Niva
For the father, it is especially important that his son can study and speak Belarusian in Vilnius. Seviarynets himself grew up in a Russian-speaking environment, so he gratefully perceives the opportunities Frantsishak now has. At home, the family also tries to choose Belarusian-language and Ukrainian-language content:
— We look for something in Belarusian or Ukrainian, watch films in these languages. In our childhood, there was nothing like that. Thank God that Frantsishak has the opportunity to learn and speak Belarusian, to watch films and videos that interest him, in his native language or in languages he understands.
“Everything is fine at school”
Frantsishak doesn’t talk too much about what happens at school. His father calls him an introvert:
— Usually, he says that everything was good at school. He might talk about what stressed him out or what particularly excited him, but in that sense, he’s a rather reserved boy.
However, on the way, Frantsishak has many questions about the world around him. The boy is especially interested in countries and flags, cars, ships, and airplanes. Conversations continue both on the way from school and on public transport.
— When we go somewhere by bus, he always sits with me. And Frantsishak and I start our man-to-man discussions: what’s happening in the world, in Ukraine, in Belarus. He finds this very interesting, — says Pavel, noting that during these conversations, he sometimes recognizes himself as a schoolboy in his son, and sometimes sees how different their childhoods were. Primarily due to gadgets, the internet, and the accessibility of information.
Pavel himself, despite excellent grades, didn’t like school:
— For me, it was a strain. I was an excellent student, I succeeded, but I didn’t like getting up early, and I mostly studied in the first shift. In Soviet school, there was little creativity. You could get by just by memorizing. I studied at a school with an art and architectural focus, and I preferred creative disciplines.
“In the Seviarynets family, all three children graduated school with gold medals”
Should Frantsishak also be an excellent student? Pavel first answers that the main thing is for his son to develop and acquire knowledge. Then he adds: the family’s bar in this matter is quite high:
— In the Seviarynets family, all three children graduated school with gold medals. So, there is a standard, of course. And the goal of studying includes excellent grades.
For now, however, in the primary grades of the gymnasium, children are not pressured by grades. Seviarynets prefers this soft approach over the system in which he himself grew up. But the parents cannot completely give up on demanding excellence:
— Volhechka and I are perfectionists, so, clearly, we want the bar to be high.
The family has also developed its own motivational saying. When Frantsishak relaxes or starts doubting himself, his mother reminds him:
— Alright, that’s enough, let’s get it together! You are Frantsishak Seviarynets! You can, you must!
“When I walk with him from school, I’m not busy, I’m with him”
After five and a half years of separation, ordinary time together became the most precious for father and son. Therefore, on the way from school, Frantsishak tries to use every minute while dad belongs only to him.
— When I pick him up from school, we have a ritual. Frantsishak wants to fully use this time because he understands: when I’m with him, I’m not busy, I’m with him. He immediately has a whole plan. He tells me interesting facts he learned from the internet. I ask him about countries. He loves games about flags, he knows which countries are where. Sometimes he knows things that we don’t know. That’s cool.
Pavel describes his place in his son’s life simply: he is a dad. But for him, this doesn’t mean dictating every step of the child and controlling everything:
— I myself grew up in a family where children were given the opportunity to decide who they wanted to become and what they wanted to do. At the same time, there were strict rules concerning order and discipline. I would like to maintain such a balance in Frantsishak’s upbringing. For Frantsishak, dad is a protector and someone who provides opportunities, inspiration, offers something. And Frantsishak chooses for himself.