In Belarus hat der seit 26 Jahren regierende Alleinherrscher Aljaksandr Lukašenka die Unterstützung des Volks verloren. Obwohl die Präsidentschaftswahlen am 9. August 2020 so unfrei und unfair waren wie keine der Wahlen zuvor, musste er ein offensichtlich fiktives Ergebnis verkünden lassen. Viele Menschen sind nicht bereit, dies stillschweigend zu akzeptieren. Ihre Proteste erfassen das ganze Land. (…)

ZOiS Report 6/2020 State-society relations in Belarus have been tense for many years. The presidential elections in August 2020 and the mishandling of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic have proved to be the catalyst that brought these fragile relations to a complete breakdown. Over the years, the widening gap between a new generation of an emancipated citizenry and a regime stuck in predominantly paternalistic power structures and reluctant to engage in political and economic reforms has become increasingly evident. The deteriorating economy during the last decade and the perceived decline of the country’s social welfare system have been important factors in these developments. At the same time, the regime has continued to invest in its domestic security structures to a disproportionate extent compared with neighbouring states, allowing the so-called silovye struktury (“state power structures”) to gain influence at the highest level of state governance. (…)