"She didn't look sincere, she wore a mask." Paulyuchenka on Kalesnikava's meeting with Belarusian journalists
Paulyuchenka compares Maria to Soviet emigrants on Brighton Beach and says that her understanding of Belarus dates back to the 2000s — the time she left.
Maria Kalesnikava during a meeting with Belarusian journalists in Berlin. February 10, 2026. Photo: LookByMedia
Editor-in-chief of Reform.news Fyodor Paulyuchenka shared his impressions of the meeting with Maria Kalesnikava in Berlin.
He explained that a number of Belarusian journalists received invitations from Maria Kalesnikava to meet.
"Initially, it was described as an invitation for tea, to get acquainted, to exchange thoughts, impressions, and I went to this meeting with roughly that mindset. (...) But for some reason, the other colleagues arrived simply charged for an interview," Paulyuchenka shares.
"Nasha Niva" received a similar invitation, but considered the proposed format — 15 minutes of conversation in Berlin with each Belarusian media outlet after Kalesnikava's multi-hour talk with Russian blogger Yuri Dud — inappropriate.
Paulyuchenka notes that he still did not understand the format of this meeting, and points out that Maria Kalesnikava said "nothing new, nothing supernatural" during the conversation.
"She wore a mask"
According to Paulyuchenka, he got the impression that Kalesnikava was well prepared for the meeting, and he wouldn't say she was completely sincere.
"A person who has been in politics for a long time has a mask. She was wearing a mask. Smiling, seemingly open, but behind all this, there was some kind of burden. There was tension. (...) I, at least, somehow read people relatively well. She didn't look sincere. She was indeed friendly, talked, told stories, answered all questions. But it was clear that she had seemingly been briefed, that she had prepared, and answered quite professionally."
As Paulyuchenka recalls, she literally broke character for a fraction of a second in a few moments when she was asked unpleasant questions. Including when she was asked if she regretted the year 2020, and if she felt responsible for it.
"I liked her answer. And I, in principle, would have answered the same way in her place. She said: why should I take responsibility for this at all, when it's Lukashenka who imprisons everyone? Whoever tortures, kills, and imprisons people is to blame. What does 'I am to blame' mean?" And that's the correct answer, in my opinion."
What Maria Kalesnikava and Russian emigrants from Brighton Beach have in common
Paulyuchenka emphasizes that he saw no presence of the "Russian world" in Maria's worldview at all. But he noticed something entirely different.
"I saw her as a person definitely not of the 'Russian world'. I saw her as a person... When people go into emigration, their understanding of their country is fixed roughly in the year they left. Like Soviet emigrants on Brighton Beach. They left in the 1970s. So they essentially remain with that 70s mindset — watching Khazanov, listening to Pugacheva. (...)
I got the feeling that Kalesnikava, when she left in the 2000s, roughly stayed with that feeling of the country and her impression of how she sees the country. (...)
This understanding and feeling of the country, it seems to me, is somewhere back there for her, despite even the fact that she was the face of the protests in 2020, that she spent five years in prison. (...) This still doesn't change a person.
Her understanding of the country comes from somewhere in the 2000s."
"Maria Kalesnikava is a completely organic, fitting character for Europe"
Another important conclusion Paulyuchenka drew for himself, analyzing Kalesnikava's statements, is the closeness of her views to certain political parties in Germany.
"All her statements — the humanitarian track, the need for negotiations, love, this 'love, love, love' (she announced a new slogan there). I thought: what did this remind me of? What 'Russian world'? This is not the 'Russian world'. It reminded me of the left in Germany. (...)
Like the Social Democrats of Germany. With all this pacifism, with all this green energy, left-wing programs, anti-war initiatives. Saying let's rather be friends, love, not fight. And sometimes concessionary positions, for which the previous German government was repeatedly criticized.
Maria Kalesnikava during a meeting with Belarusian journalists in Berlin. February 10, 2026. Photo: LookByMedia
This is Maria Kalesnikava in its purest form. And it's just, well, blood from blood, flesh from flesh."
Paulyuchenka explains that for Maria, as a person from the cultural sphere, such a left-wing agenda is organic.
The journalist recalls that he had said before: Kalesnikava has great prospects in German politics.
"To be part of the left movement, specifically. Left — in the sense of the social-democratic movement. Not far-left, but precisely social-democratic. And it seems to me that she should be perceived precisely this way. (...) Her political background, her political views — they are about the German social democrats of the 2000s, 2010s."
Paulyuchenka notes that, perhaps, his opinion is mistaken, and Maria can refute it. However, he got the impression that "the best way to understand her, her political platform, her views — is through understanding what the German Social Democrats say."
"The Social Democrats (...) are a perfectly mainstream party. And generally, all of Europe is essentially social-democratic. This means Maria Kalesnikava is a completely organic, fitting character for Europe. Plus, she speaks excellent German, excellent English, switches easily, and she also speaks Belarusian," Paulyuchenka concludes.