There is concern that Lukashenko will use the pretense of Russian mercenaries infiltrating the country to tamp down on public protest ahead of the election as well as after the election since the results will most likely be contested. The dictator has already hinted at this with a series of visits to anti-riot troops and military bases suggesting they “must not allow” protests.
Lukashenko’s thinly veiled threats to opposition leaders have been largely ineffective as large swathes of Belarussians have taken to the streets to protest the current regime.
In Minsk, opposition rallies drew massive crowds not seen since the fall of the Soviet Union over 33 years ago. On July 19, a rally in Minsk attracted roughly 10,000 individuals. That number would more than quintuple to 63,000 people participating in rallies on July 30.
Leading the opposition is Svetlana Tikhanouskaya, a stand-in for her husband Sergei Tikhanovsky, a popular YouTube blogger currently imprisoned by the Lukashenko government. In front of a large crowd, Tikhanouskaya exclaimed “You think that I’m not afraid? I’m afraid every day … But I get up, summon my will, get over my fear and move forward.”
