This summer’s presidential election in Belarus promises to be the most remarkable the country has witnessed in over a quarter of a century. Ever since he first won the presidency in 1994, Alexander Lukashenko has ruled the small but strategically important former Soviet republic with an iron fist. This has earned him the moniker of Europe’s Last Dictator and also left his fiefdom largely isolated from the rest of the continent. However, ahead of the August 9 vote, the political monotony that has characterized Lukashenko’s rule for more than two decades has been shattered by a sudden outbreak of democracy.
Read more here.
