For over 80 days, Belarusians have physically challenged Lukashenko's regime of over a quarter century.
The August 2020 elections, which claimed to result in 80% support of the long-standing president, is widely believed to be fraudulent, leading to massive peaceful protests and "brutal police crackdown[s]" (NPR). Only a Western perspective would frame his presidency as “The Last European Dictatorship". It implies that a movement towards Western ways is a movement towards development. But there is no need to suffocate Belarus between the dichotomous forces of East and West in order to support or learn from their struggle against authoritarianism. 'Democracy' is not the only thing Belarusians are fighting for, there is also a strong desire to rescue what has been lost as a result of the power struggle between these two worlds — to preserve a unique language, culture, and home.
Comments