After basically stagnating for 26 years under the iron-fisted rule of Alyaksandr Lukashenka, the people of Belarus suddenly erupted following the August 9 elections, which have been condemned as fraudulent by the opposition and Western democracies. Since then, massive protests have been held across the country on a daily basis. The United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and the European Union have all initiated sanctions against top Belarusian officials, including Mr. Lukashenka himself.
Although there had been opposition to Mr. Lukashenka’s rule for a long time, people were afraid and expressed their thoughts only in closed circles. Until these elections, that is.