Mikalay Astreika was born on 11 November 1980 in Minsk. He graduated from high school, and then, from the Belarusian State University.

Chronicle of repression

In October 2005, Mikalay tried to register the social organization Partnership that would deal with an independent electoral observation, but the authorities did not register it. On  29 October the police detained 110 delegates of the constituent assembly of the public association of independent observers of Partnership in Tsentralny cinema in Minsk. The police appeared there 40 minutes after the beginning of the assembly and qualified it as an unauthorized mass action. The assembly organizers were kept in jail till the trial that took place two days later, on 31 October.  Mikalay Astreika, Enira Branickaja, Aliaksandr Shalajka and Tsimafej Dranchuk were accused of activities on behalf of an unregistered organization.

Mikalay Astreika was charged with violation of Article 166 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Republic of Belarus (“resistance to legal demands of the police”). Mikola Astreika was sentenced by the Central Court of Minsk to 2 years’ imprisonment in a penal colony.

On 17 November 2005 Mikalay Astreika was released from Shklou penal colony. The regime of his penalty was changed to corrective labour.