Alena Anisim

Summary

Alena Mikalajeŭna Anisim[a] (née Amelčyc;[b] born 28 September 1962) is a Belarusian opposition politician, linguist and former member of the House of Representatives of Belarus, the lower house of the National Assembly of Belarus. She is additionally the head of the banned Francišak Skaryna Belarusian Language Society.

Alena Anisim
Алена Анісім
Member of the House of Representatives of Belarus
In office
2016–2019
Personal details
Born
Alena Mikalajeŭna Amelčyc

(1962-09-28) 28 September 1962 (age 61)
Stoŭbcy, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union
Political partyIndependent
Alma materBelarusian State University
Awards Belarusian Democratic Republic 100th Jubilee Medal (2018)

Anisim was born on 28 September 1962 into a peasant family in the town of Stoŭbcy, Minsk Region.

In 1983, she graduated from the Faculty of Philology of Belarusian State University. She then worked as a nursery school and secondary school teacher. From 1991, she was a research associate in the Yakub Kolas Institute of Linguistics of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. Since 2017, she has been the chairperson of the Francišak Skaryna Belarusian Language Society. From 2017 to 2018, she actively promoted the creation of the first Belarusian-language university, named after Nil Hilevich, in Minsk. However, the project was rejected by the Education Ministry.

In 2014, Anisim became a coordinator of the all-Belarusian Congress for Independence. That same year, the Belarusian Congress of Intellectuals nominated her for the presidency. However, having started a company, she abruptly withdrew from the race.[1]

In 2016, she and Hanna Kanapatskaya were elected to the House of Representatives of Belarus, the first two opposition politicians to gain seats in twenty years.[2] When trying to register their candidacies for the 2019 elections, they were refused by the Lukashenko regime's Central Election Commission.

In 2019, she announced her candidacy for President of Belarus.[3] After it was also rejected, she returned to the Yakub Kolas Institute after completing her term at the House of Representatives.

Notes edit

  1. ^ Belarusian: Але́на Мікала́еўна Ані́сім
    Russian: Еле́на Никола́евна Ани́сим, romanizedYelena Nikolayevna Anisim
  2. ^ Belarusian: Амельчыц
    Russian: Амельчиц

References edit

  1. ^ "Anisim refuses to run for President, Karatkevich doesn't". euroradio.fm. 2015-07-01. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
  2. ^ "Opposition Figures Win Seats In Belarusian Parliament". Radio Free Europe. 11 September 2016.
  3. ^ "'Opposition MP' Alena Anisim announces bid for Belarus presidency". euroradio.fm. 2019-01-30. Retrieved 2019-07-02.

External links edit

  • Frear, Matthew (2018-09-20). Belarus under Lukashenka: Adaptive Authoritarianism. Routledge. ISBN 9781135008413.