BELARUS: democracy or DICtATORSHIP?
BELARUS: democracy or DICtATORSHIP?
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After a controversial August presidential election, the people of Belarus have begun to flood the streets of Minsk to protest in support of democracy.
Belarus is an eastern european country that shares a border with Russia. Belarus was once part of the Soviet Union, but gained its independence from the Union in 1991. Although the two nations are now separate from each other, there are still various governmental ties-- ties that have led to situations such as Russia shutting off Belarus’ oil supply over a disagreement, or even ties that influence Belarus’ presidential elections. Many have claimed that Vladimir Putin, president of Russia, interferes with Belarusian elections in order to install pro-Kremlin officials. According to the National Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO, Putin favors a pro-Kremlin Belarus president so that the official in question would accept Putin’s proposal of merging Belarus with Russia, cutting off the Baltic states from the rest of the European Union.
For the last 26 years, the president of Belarus has been Alexander Lukashenko. His lengthy reign combined with his authoritarian way of governing has even earned him the nickname “the last dictator in Europe.” When a new presidential election was held earlier this year, Lukashenko was up against human rights activist Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, a female candidate. The odds of Tsikhanouskaya's victory seemed good, as her rallies would have over 60,000 attendees and she appeared to be in the public favor; however, when the election came, official tallies recounted that she received only 10% of the popular vote, whereas Lukashenko got a staggering 80%. Lukashenko’s response to this was that society is “not mature enough to vote for women.” The people of Belarus immediately knew that something was up, and that it should have been impossible for Tsikhanouskaya to receive so few votes, considering the success of her campaign.
A long chain of events was set in motion in response to the claims of a fraudulent election. Thousands of Belarusians took to the streets of the capital city Minsk, marching outside of Lukashenko’s estate to protest for democracy in the country and for Lukashenko's removal from office. Due to the arrest of protest leader Maria Kolesnikova, the sexist remarks made by Lukashenko at Tsikhanouskaya’s loss, and the targeted police brutality towards female protesters, many women are leading these protests.
The acts of the protest have definitely caught Lukashenko’s attention, with the protesters marching through the streets, waving signs and flags, and demanding for Lukashenko’s removal from office. In response, Lukashenko began violently cracking down on these protests using his security forces. Thousands of people have been detained for participating in the protests-- over 7,000 only a week after the election-- and anyone who goes on strike as an act of protest will not be getting their jobs back. Maria Kolesnikova, a prominent protestor, was also arrested after resisting deportation, later being charged with incitement to undermine national security. However, Lukashenko’s authoritarian response to the protests has only worsened the situation for him. The protests have only grown in numbers, as many are now using Lukashenko’s response as another major reason to remove him from office. Ultimately, with the ire of his citizens on him, it does not appear as though Lukashenko will remain president of Belarus for much longer.
Sarah has been attending Edgewood since 7th grade, and this is her first year on the Edge staff. She enjoys drawing and playing tennis. As a 2020 staff writer, she hopes to reach students with stories she believes they’d find interesting.
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