UTC Awarded Medals to 9 Outstanding Individuals
2026-01-20
The United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus has announced a new round of state awards, conferring the medals “For Fruitful Work for the Benefit of Belarus,” “The Unconquered” (Larysa Heniush), and the Cross of Good Neighbourliness.
The nominees were put forward by civil society organizations and independent activists. Their candidacies were reviewed and approved by the UTCB Awards Commission. The relevant decrees were signed on January 7 by the Head of the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.
The Cabinet has issued the following decrees:
1. To award the medal “For Fruitful Work for the Benefit of Belarus” to:
✨ Iaroslav Chornogor – Ukrainian researcher and analyst, one of the organizers of the Belarusian‑Ukrainian forum named after the Ostrogski princes in 2022–2025.
✨ Rustis Kamuntavičius – Lithuanian historian, co‑founder of the International Congress of Belarusian Studies.
✨ Ingo Petz – German journalist and writer specializing in Belarusian culture, head of the Belarus section at the online portal dekoder.org.
✨ Mikita Melkaziorau – Belarusian journalist, blogger, interviewer.
✨ Felix Ackermann – German cultural scientist and historian.
2. To award the “Unvanquished” (Larysa Heniush) Medal for personal courage, resilience, and self‑sacrifice in advancing the ideals of democracy and human rights in Belarus to:
✨ Natallia Dulina – Belarusian linguist and translator from Italian.
✨ Uladzimir Labkovich – Belarusian human rights defender, lawyer at the Human Rights Center “Viasna,” coordinator of the campaign “Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections.”
✨ Ihar Losik – Belarusian blogger.
3. To award the Cross of Good Neighbourliness for developing public diplomacy and expanding dialogue between the Belarusian people and other nations to:
✨ Lech Wałęsa – Polish statesman and trade union activist.
✨ Vytautas Landsbergis – Lithuanian politician, statesman, and public figure.
One individual will be awarded anonymously.
