Shraibman on Melnikova's appearance in Minsk: She was given the right to live her own life
The story of the disappearance of Anzhalika Melnikova, former speaker of the Coordination Council, took an unexpected turn last week. First, photos of a woman resembling her appeared online from a Minsk gym, and then Melnikova's father confirmed to "Nasha Niva" that his daughter has been in Belarus for a long time.
In the episode of the program "How to understand this" on "Zerkalo", political analyst Artyom Shraibman noted that the lack of attention can be explained by the existence of backroom agreements between Melnikova and the special services.
— We can only speculate about what is true in this story, — the expert emphasizes.
— But this fits the most logical version of what happened: for such a return with money and insider information (she, apparently, exposed enough people and the opposition, being one of its leaders), Melnikova could have been given a unique right to oblivion. This, of course, does not apply to personal visits to the gym. But why should propaganda humiliate her with such "exposures"? I think she was simply allowed to live her own life.
As for the consequences for democratic forces, in Shraibman's opinion, Melnikova's presence in Belarus changes little in the political landscape. Answering whether the new information provoked a wave of distrust towards democratic forces, the expert noted that the political effect of this scandal has already been exhausted.
— I think that the main damage to the opposition as a whole has already been done. Melnikova, apparently, has been in Belarus for a year already, and during this time she could have told [the special services everything she knew about the democratic forces].