The protests attracting thousands of people, following the rigged presidential election on August 9 last year, which spread across Belarus – from the two-million population of Minsk to the town of Zhabinka with a population of several thousand – had the character of a mass social revolt. The 80 percent of votes for Lukashenko announced by his loyal Central Election Commission after the first round not only illustrated the dictator’s detachment from society but also showed his unwillingness to admit his plunging support, as well as reflecting his desire to force society to remain in a patriarchal symbiosis. Instead of campaigning in residential areas and workplaces on the day before the vote, the president paid visits to the military and militia units, where he threatened to punish any form of resistance. And he meant it.
Protests in Belarus
Hromadske: Between authoritarian violence and social anger in Belarus
Law enforcement officers gather to disperse opposition supporters during a rally to protest against alleged election fraud and the killing of an opposition activist in Minsk on Nov. 15, 2020.
