The largest protest since a rigged Aug. 9, 2020, presidential election took place in Minsk on Aug. 16. About 200,000 people came out in the streets of Minsk to protest against Aleksander Lukashenko, the dictator since 1994 who is widely believed to have falsified the latest election results. The Belarusian strongman is under increasing pressure from Belarusians and their supporters abroad over his claim to have won the election with 80 percent of the vote. Non-state polls and others say that challenger Svetlana Tikhankovskaya won the vote count.
