In the Belarusian capital of Minsk, an atmosphere rife with anxiety and hope has taken hold of the capital city with elections planned for this week. Aptly named ‘Europe’s last dictator,’ Alexander Lukashenko has ruled the country with an iron fist for the last 26 years.
Naturally, Lukashenko has hopes for a sixth term as President of Belarus. It will not be an easy victory for Lukashenko however, who has received increasing pressure from opposition groups, Western condemnation for human rights abuses, and deteriorating relations with Russia, its immediate neighbor to the east.
On top of heightened opposition, 33 alleged Russian mercenaries were arrested in Minsk for attempting to destabilize the country according to the Belarusian regime. Russia has requested that Lukashenko release the mercenaries as an ‘ally’ of the Russian government.
Prior to the capture of the Russian mercenaries, tensions had already begun to escalate between the two countries with Lukashenko pushing back against the Kremlin’s plan to integrate the two countries’ economies.
