A Farewell Service Was Held In Warsaw For Konstantin Ivanov, A Journalist For “Charter ’97””
1- 29.10.2026, 17:34
The hero was escorted under a white-red-white flag.
A memorial service was held in Warsaw for “Charter ’97”” journalist Konstantin Ivanov. He was laid to rest under a white-red-white flag.
The memorial service was led by the chaplain for Belarusians in the Polish capital, Father Vyachaslau Barok. Speakers at the funeral included the editor-in-chief of the Charter97.org website, Natallia Radzina, the leader of the “European Belarus” civic campaign, Andrei Sannikov, the coordinator of “European Belarus,” Dzmitry Bandarenka, as well as Konstantin’s friends and loved ones.
Below is the full text of Natallia Radzina’s speech:
“Today we said goodbye to our friend and colleague Konstantin Ivanov.
To me, Kastus is a model of courage, kindness, dedication to his cause, and love for Belarus.
Even as a student—first at the Vitebsk Technological Institute and later at the Minsk International University (MITSO)— Kastus took part in opposition protests; he was an activist with the “Zubr” movement and the “European Belarus” civic campaign.
After the 2010 presidential election, he was forced to emigrate to Poland due to repression and began working for the “Charter ’97” website.
Kastus was an exceptionally reliable and responsible person. There was no task he couldn’t handle. If work needed to be done urgently, he was always available and always came to the rescue.
For the past year or so, Kastus had been living at the Caritas Catholic inpatient hospice of the Archdiocese of Warsaw. We are very grateful to the hospice for its care and support, and for its kind and compassionate treatment.
Kastus never stopped working, even there. Work sustained him and gave him strength. He wanted to be useful and do something for his country. Even in his final days, he would often ask me, “What about work? Maybe I can still work a little?”
It seems unbelievable, but at the hospice he studied English, learned programming languages, and did physical exercises and yoga whenever possible. He was planning to write a book; we even discussed its structure and title with him.
Kastus loved Belarus. Even in his final days, when he began having trouble with his memory and recognizing people, whenever he heard the words “Long live Belarus!” he would invariably reply, “Long live eternal Belarus!”
He never lost heart. I asked him, “How do you manage that?” He replied, “What’s the point of suffering and worrying?”
His life motto—the words he repeated every day—were: “Tomorrow will be better!”
These past few days, we’ve been reminiscing a lot about Kastus together with his mother. All his friends and colleagues know that he was a kind person who knew how to empathize and offer support. But I was struck by two stories from his childhood that explain a lot about the kind of person he was.
There was a boy at school with Kastus—frail and sickly. No one was friends with him except Kastus. And he explained it very simply: “This boy is very lonely; no one is friends with him—so I’ll be his friend.”
The second story. On September 1st, we all went to school with big bouquets of flowers that our parents had given us. One day, Kastus went to school that way, too. When his mom asked him which teacher he’d given the flowers to, Kastus replied, “I waited, saw who had received the fewest flowers—and gave my bouquet to him.”
Thank you for being here, Kastus. It was a joy to know you and work with you. For me and for so many others, you will forever remain an example of courage and strength. You will always inspire me.
It’s shameful to lose heart. It’s shameful to do nothing when Kastus never lost heart and kept taking action,” recalls Natallia Radzina, editor-in-chief of the website Charter97.org.
A detailed report on the funeral will be published tomorrow.
Journalist Charter97.org Konstantin Ivanov died on October 24 after a serious illness. He was 40 years old.
In the 2000s, Konstantin was one of the most prominent activists in the “Zubr” movement and the “European Belarus” civic campaign in Vitebsk. He was repeatedly detained by security forces during protests.
After the 2010 presidential “elections,” he moved to Poland and worked as a journalist for the website Charter97.org.
Bank's name: Bank Millennium S.A.
Address: ul. Stanislawa Zaryna, 2A, 02-593, Warszawa
IBAN: PL97116022020000000216711123
SWIFT: BIGBPLPW
Name of the account holder: Fundacja “KARTA ‘97”
Purpose/title of payment: Donation for statuary aims
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