What Happened to Yana Pachitskaya — the Girl Detained with Kanavalau and Kavaliou in the Metro Terrorist Attack Case

Yana Pachitskaya. Screenshot from a BT documentary.

Yana Pachitskaya is now 36 years old. After graduating from school in Rechytsa in 2007, she moved to Minsk, where she studied at the women's institute "Envila" and the Minsk Institute of Management (specializing in "psychology").

Many speculated that the reason for "Envila's" liquidation was precisely that Pachitskaya studied there. In 2012, more than 1000 female students were scattered across other universities.

In April 2011, Yana Pachitskaya found herself at the epicenter of tragic events. She had communicated with Dzmitry Kanavalau for about a year on the social network "VKontakte". They met in person only on April 10.

Four people gathered in a rented apartment on Karalya Street — Kanavalau, Uladzislau Kavaliou, Yana Pachitskaya, and another girl. The latter eventually went home, while Yana stayed overnight.

"We drank. We drank long and a lot. There was a lot of vodka, and wine too," she recounted in court about the gathering with Kanavalau and Kavaliou. The last entry Yana made on her "VKontakte" page was: "Terribly craving something very indecent!". This was written at two o'clock in the morning on April 11 — the day of the terrorist attack.

Yana became an unwitting witness to Kanavalau leaving with a blue bag and returning in an uplifted mood on April 11 — the day of the explosion at Kastrychnitskaya station. On April 12, special forces stormed the apartment.

Initially, the girl was detained as a suspect in the bombing case because she was in the apartment with the main suspects. She underwent interrogations. However, when it became clear that she was a random person and knew nothing, the criminal prosecution against her was dropped due to the absence of a criminal offense. She was reclassified as a witness.

Павялічыць

Yana Pachitskaya. Photo from her VKontakte page.

In court, her testimony about how the guys whispered over the bag behind a screen became one of the key pieces of evidence for the prosecution.

"When we saw the news about the explosion, Kanavalau was already asleep. Kavaliou and I discussed it. I said it might be the opposition, but why would they blow up the metro? I was indignant. We discussed the explosion the next day too. The guys agreed with me," she said.

Павялічыць

Yana Plyushchanitsa-Pachitskaya. Photo from her Instagram page.

It appears that Pachitskaya was expelled from the institute after all the events. But life went on. The girl got a job at a "Mila" chain store. In July 2015, Yana got married and took a double surname. Soon after, a daughter was born into the family.

For a long time, Yana engaged in handicrafts — creating original interior compositions and handmade gifts, putting into them, as she wrote on social media, "a piece of her soul".

In recent years, Plyushchanitsa-Pachitskaya has become passionate about running. Her achievements include the Bright Vertical stair race (where participants ran to the 23rd floor of a building), 5-kilometer Belarus Museum Run trails, and mass runs like the "Beautiful Race". She also involves her child in sports, registering them for family distances.

Павялічыць

Yana Plyushchanitsa-Pachitskaya at the "Night Run" near Minsk in August 2022 — second from the right in a lime-green t-shirt. Photo: etna.by

In addition, Yana became a photographer. The girl seeks models for photo shoots in Minsk, organizes beautiful wedding photo sessions, participates in Fine Art photographers' communities, and regularly updates her professional equipment.

Yana's father was artist Vasyl Pachitski, author of recognizable cartoons with rabbits on the pages of "Belgazeta". He passed away in 2024.

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