One year of protests in Belarus: between fear and resistance

Vitali is angry with the ruler Alexander Lukashenko. Vitali’s son was sentenced to two and a half years in a prison camp in Belarus just a few days ago. Because the 21-year-old protested against Lukashenko at his university. “This judgment is completely arbitrary, without evidence, without legal basis,” complains the family man. The 50-year-old sits in a café and tells his story. He wants to drink his espresso at the window so that he can see if the police should arrive. One year after the presidential election, fear and mistrust reign in Belarus.

The police arrested Vitali’s son Ilya about eight months ago in the capital Minsk. It was above all the younger generation who, after the election, hoped that a new life would begin with real prospects and good earning opportunities like in the EU. Ilya wants to become an architect. “According to the circumstances, he is doing well, he smiles, but he looks pale,” said Witali of the German press agency. Twelve others are detained in the cell.

Many Belarusians are afraid: “We have to be careful”

For many in the ex-Soviet republic, life has changed. Since Lukashenko was confirmed in the presidential election on August 9 with 80.1 percent of the vote after more than 25 years in power, many have rebelled against the 66-year-old. After the vote, hundreds of thousands took to the streets every weekend for months. Lukashenko had the protests crushed at times and remained in power. On this hot summer day at the end of July, Minsk is at least outwardly as it has ever been.

Modern electric buses roll through the center with its magnificent houses. Again and again minibuses with tinted windows speed through the streets. Masked security forces jumped out of such vehicles during the protests and apparently dragged people away at random and took them away. Many such minibuses are now transporting passengers. But it cannot always be seen from the outside.

“We have to be careful,” says a 32-year-old while walking and suddenly becomes nervous. A small van without a window is halfway on the sidewalk. The man with a beard and glasses has already been arrested twice. He was imprisoned 15 days ago a few months ago for demonstrating. He doesn’t want to read his name in public. Days after the interview, he asked not to write anything about his job. Like many of his compatriots, he is intimidated by police violence. There are more than 500 political prisoners.

A new life in the EU – instead of Belarus

The 32-year-old carries a backpack. Inside are socks, underwear and toiletries. “In the event of an arrest,” he says, pointing to a building where he used to work. He was fired after his arrest. Many others – from IT to medicine – turned their backs on their homeland. But the 32-year-old wants to stay: “I can help my country more in Minsk than abroad.”

But in 2020 alone, according to official statistics, the population of Belarus fell by 60,000 to 9.3 million – because of the corona pandemic, but also because of emigration. The leaders of the mass protests are either in prison or have to flee abroad. They did not succeed in overthrowing Lukashenko, who was criticized as the “last dictator in Europe”.

Many are building a new life for themselves in the EU. Inga is one of them. She now lives in Bavaria, previously in Minsk. “They are still summoning me for questioning before the investigative committee,” she said. The 40-year-old had shot videos for Viktor Babariko’s election campaign. Lukashenko’s most promising challenger was arrested before the election and sentenced to 14 years in a prison camp at the beginning of July.

Lukashenko supported by Putin

Lukashenko sees himself as the winner one year after the election. But the price is high. People are scared and insecure. The mood in the country, which the 66-year-old is leading with a hard hand with the help of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, is leaden. Many are waiting for the ruler to vacate his post. There is much speculation in the Russian media that Russia could one day appoint a new governor who is loyal to Moscow.

It doesn’t look like that at the moment. The authoritarian authorities have been taking action against non-governmental organizations and the independent media for weeks. Lukashenko, who is financially supported by his big neighbor Russia, repeatedly describes civil society activists as “terrorists” or “bandits and foreign agents”.

But Lukashenko definitely finds support in parts of the population. “I feel safe in Belarus, there is hardly any crime,” says 30-year-old Julia. Such statements can often be heard on state television without critical voices. On the other hand, the teacher thinks little of civil rights activist Svetlana Tichanowskaya, who has fled to other EU countries and who sees the opposition as the winner of the presidential election. Others completely hide politics from their everyday lives.

The protest is still there, if not visible everywhere

At least in the center of Minsk, with its almost two million inhabitants, nothing reminds of the uprising against Lukashenko. The national flag flies on the official buildings. The protest has grown quiet. If you want to feel it, you have to go to the residential areas.

Kilometers from Lukashenko’s palace, the symbol of the opposition sticks almost inconspicuously on traffic signs, staircases or playgrounds: the white-red-white flag. The small stickers are quickly removed if the authorities discover them, as described by a local resident. Slogans against the authoritarian power apparatus have been painted over on the walls of the simple high-rise buildings.

When asked about the white-red-white flag of the opposition, a middle-aged man invites them to his apartment. It hangs with him on the fifth floor on the outskirts, next to a shelf. It cannot be seen from the outside. Whoever hangs the flag in the window, for example, risks imprisonment. The authorities now want to classify them as extremist and thus ban them. Only the red and green national flag is allowed.

The man from Minsk was not in prison yet, even though he protested from time to time in the autumn. Nothing has changed for him since the election: he goes to work and meets up with friends. A few days ago, however, an acquaintance of his was arrested. She worked for a non-governmental organization.