Belarus in turmoil

For more than two weeks now, Belarus has been in turmoil. After
president Aliaksandr Lukashenka was announced the winner of the
presidential election with more than 80% of the votes, Belarusians
took to the streets to contest the results as electoral fraud. The
regime cracked down hard on the protests, large-scale police
violence and even torture were reported. Nevertheless, an
increasing number of Belarusians across the country with different
personal backgrounds and ages have joined the protests. And also
workers in several state enterprises went on strike. Where does
this solidarity, the determination and the widespread will for
change come from? Political scientists Nadja Douglas and Félix
Krawatzek, who both cover Belarus in their research, talk about the
widening gap between Belarusian state institutions and the people,
the role of a new politicised generation and how Lukashenka’s
handling of the Covid-19 crisis served as a catalyst. We discuss
the international perspective and take a look at difficulties the
activists may face as the protests continue. (Music: “Complete” by
Modul is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0-License.)