In 1993, he participated in Alexander Lukashenko's election campaign as an analyst and then, until 1998, worked at the Operational and Analytical Center under the Presidential Administration, dealing with Belarus's relations with international financial organizations.
After the 1996 referendum, which expanded Lukashenko's powers, he decided to resign from the presidential administration. He left it permanently in 1998.
Since 2002, he has become an independent economic expert and financial analyst, working for European Radio for Belarus and hosting the popular program "Economics on the Fingers" on TUT.BY for almost 10 years.
In 2020, he supported democratic changes and joined the Coordination Council for Overcoming the Political Crisis.
In June 2021, he was forced to emigrate due to the risk of political persecution.
In September 2022, the Belarusian Investigative Center (BRC), with which Sergei collaborated, was designated an extremist organization by the Belarusian authorities. On July 31, 2024, it was announced that Sergei Chaly had been placed on the international wanted list. According to the Belarusian Association of Journalists and Belsat, criminal cases were opened against BRC employees.
