Belarus’s opposition is growing stronger

If the citizens of Belarus finally kick out their long time dictator Lukashenko (in power since 1994), Putin the Terrible looses an important ally.

The Russo-Ukrainian war may very well be the end of the political career of Putin the Terrible! Hopefully, the Russian citizens will get to choose a better leaders and parliament!

"As the war in Ukraine rages on, the stability of neighbouring Belarus, which has been backing the Russian invasion, appears to be fracturing. Has Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war of aggression opened a Pandora’s box for a regime that is practically a remote wing of the Kremlin?

Recall that in Belarus’s last presidential election, in August 2020, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya almost certainly defeated the incumbent, Aleksander Lukashenko, whose minions had dismissed his opponent as a ‘housewife’. When an upswell of support made it obvious that Tikhanovskaya was heading for victory, Lukashenko falsified the results, awarding himself more than 80% of the vote—and inciting huge protests that lasted for months. ...

To keep this broad-based opposition movement at bay, Lukashenko must rely on constant draconian repression. More than 1,000 political prisoners have been given decade-plus prison sentences, and 1,500 others have been jailed for protesting against the war in Ukraine, including by sabotaging railroads to impede the Russian army. Others have received on-the-spot unofficial punishments such as rifle shots to the knee. ...
Russia’s failing war in Ukraine could soon offer a similar opportunity to Belarus. Since 2020, Belarusian society has articulated its values, learned the art of long-term resistance and created a free media based abroad. And now, for perhaps the first time ever, Belarusian dissidents are getting their hands on weapons and joining the fight against Putin in Ukraine, where they are becoming renowned for their courage and battlefield successes. ...

On the second anniversary of the protests, all political forces came to an agreement and a Belarusian government-in-exile was formed, headed by Tikhanovskaya. It includes her office operating in Vilnius; the National Anti-Crisis Management, headed by Pavel Latushka; the Warsaw-based BYPOL initiative of former members of the uniformed services; the Opposition Initiative, which includes the Cyber Partisans; and the Pahonia regiment fighting in Ukraine. The Coordination Council, created during the protests two years ago and featuring Nobel Prize winner Svetlana Alexeyevich, is being transformed into a substitute for parliament.

A marked change is that the government-in-exile already has its own armed branch, for which more than 200,000 Belarusians have registered, ready to rise up against Lukashenko at the first opportunity—including by force. ...."

Belarus’s opposition is growing stronger | The Strategist