2020–2021 Belarusian protests

2020–2021 Belarusian protests
Part of the Belarusian democracy movement
Protests on 16 August 2020 in Minsk
Date24 May 2020[1] – 25 March 2021[2] (10 months and 1 day)
Location
Belarus
Caused by
  • Authoritarianism and political repression
  • Arrest of opposition presidential candidates Viktar Babaryka and Sergei Tikhanovsky
  • Persistent electoral fraud in the country's elections[3]
  • Alexander Lukashenko seeking a sixth presidential term in the 2020 Belarusian presidential election
  • Economic and social policies of the government[4]
  • Mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic in Belarus[5]
Goals
  • Resignation of Alexander Lukashenko
  • Resignation of the government
  • Economic liberalisation
  • New free and fair presidential elections
  • Release of political prisoners
  • Ending police brutality
  • Recount of the presidential election[6]
Methods
  • Demonstrations
  • Protest marches
  • Online activism
  • Road blockades
  • Civil disobedience
  • General strike
  • Riots
Resulted inProtests quelled[2]
  • No policy/leadership change in response to the protests[7]
  • Main opposition leaders either in exile or in prison[8]
  • Intensified authoritarianism moving forward[9]
  • Emergence of the Belarusian partisan movement
Parties

Coordination Council (since 14 August)[10]
National Strike Committee (since 18 August)[11]

Belarusian opposition[12][13][14]

  • Association of Belarusian Students[15]
  • Christian Democrats[16][17]
  • Congress of Democratic Trade Unions[17]
  • Conservative Christian Party[18]
  • Left Party[19]
  • Movement for Freedom[16]
  • Party of Freedom and Progress[17]
  • Popular Front Party[17]
  • Social Democratic Assembly
  • Social Democratic Party (Assembly)[17]
  • Social Democratic Party (People's Assembly)
  • United Civic Party[16][17]
  • Young Front[20]
  • Youth Bloc[21]

Anarchists[22]

  • Revolutionary Action[23]
  • Anarchist Black Cross[24]
  • Pramen[25]
Supported by:
  • Rada of the BPR (in exile)[26][27]
  • Right Alliance
  • Tell the Truth
  • BAPC[28]
  • Supported by 30 countries

    • Belsat TV

Government of Belarus

  • KGB
    • Belarusian Alpha Group[29]
  • Ministry of Internal Affairs
    • Internal Troops
    • AMAP/OMON[30]
    • Almaz
    • Militsiya
    • GUBOPiK
  • 38th Guards Air Assault Brigade[31]
  • 5th Spetsnaz Brigade[32][33][34][35][36][37]
  • Presidential Security Service (parts)

Political parties

  • Agrarian Party
  • Communist Party[38]
  • LDPB
  • Patriotic Party
  • BSSP
  • Republican Party
  • RPTS
  • SDPPA

Public associations

  • Belaya Rus
  • Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus
  • Republican Youth Union
  • pro-Lukashenko protests
Supported by:
Lead figures
  • Alexander Lukashenko
  • Roman Golovchenko
  • Lidia Yermoshina[44][45]
  • Yury Karayeu[46][47]
  • Ivan Kubrakov
  • Andrei Ravkov
  • Valery Vakulchik
  • Alexander Volfovich
  • Viktor Khrenin
  • Nikolai Karpenkov
  • Viktor Lukashenko
  • Vladimir Makei
Number
16 August:
23 August:
16 August:
  • Minsk: ~5,000–65,000[48]
Total:
  • ~100,000 police and soldiers[57]
Casualties and losses
1,373 injured including children[58]
4–11 dead[59]
30,000+ arrested[60][61][62]
at least 6 are missing[63][64]
121 injured[65][66]
At least a few journalists wounded[67]

The 2020–2021 Belarusian protests were a series of mass political demonstrations and protests against the Belarusian government and President Alexander Lukashenko.[71][72] The largest anti-government protests in the history of Belarus, the demonstrations began in the lead-up to and during the 2020 presidential election, in which Lukashenko sought his sixth term in office.[73][72] In response to the demonstrations, a number of relatively small pro-government rallies were held.[48]

The protests intensified nationwide after the official election results were announced on the night of 9 August, in which Lukashenko was declared the winner. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the main opponent of Lukashenko, rejected the results as falsified and claimed instead to have received 60–70% of the votes. On 14 August, she announced the creation of the Coordination Council, with membership applications open to all Belarusians who agreed that the official election had been falsified.[6][74]

On 23 September, Belarusian state media announced that Lukashenko had been inaugurated for another five-year term in a brief ceremony which was held privately.[75] The following day, the EU published a statement that rejected the legitimacy of the election, called for new elections, and condemned the repression and violence against the protesters.[76]

The protesters faced violent persecution by the authorities. A statement by the United Nations Human Rights Office on 1 September cited more than 450 documented cases of torture and ill-treatment of detainees, as well as reports of sexual abuse and rape.[77] At the end of 2020, the Viasna Human Rights Centre documented 1,000 testimonies of torture victims.[78]

  1. ^ "More Than 1,000 Belarusians Protest Lukashenka's Bid For Sixth Term". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 2020-05-24. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
  2. ^ a b "Hundreds arrested in Belarus 'Freedom Day' protest". Associated Press. Kyiv. 2021-03-25. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
    (in Ukrainian) Terrorism from Lukashenko: what threatens the dictator Ryanair-conflict with the West, Europeska Pravda (24 May 2021)
  3. ^ Паслухайце, як віцебскі чыноўнік прымушае выбарчую камісію замяніць лічбы ў пратаколах АЎДЫЯ. Наша Ніва (in Belarusian). 2020-08-12.
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  7. ^ Global Protest Tracker, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (website visited on 21 October 2021)
  8. ^ Why wearing the wrong socks is risky in Belarus, BBC News (6 May 2021)
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  49. ^ "Мінск. А вось сколькі людзей прыйшло да Стэлы, каб дамагчыся перагляду вынікаў выбараў. Па адчуванням, іх тут разы ў чатыры больш, чым было на лукашэнкаўскім мітынгу. То бок, тут ужо 200–300 тысяч чалавек, і людзі працягваюць падыходзіць!". Telegram. 2020-08-16.
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  51. ^ "Мінск. Нешта фантастычнае на Стэле. Экс-прадзюсар "Ляписа Трубецкого" Яўген Калмыкоў — прафесійны арганізатар масавых мерапрыемстваў — сваім намятаным вокам ацэньвае колькасць удзельнікаў акцыі ў 400 тысяч чалавек". Telegram. 2020-08-16.
  52. ^ "У Горадні скончыўся мітынг. Ён сабраў каля 40 тысяч чалавек. Людзі прайшлі ад Савецкай плошчы да плошчы Леніна па цэнтры гораду. Агучылі патрабаваньні да ўладаў. На сцэне працаваў свабодны мікрафон. Падзея прайшла без правакацыяў і затрыманьняў". Telegram. 2020-08-16.
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  71. ^ Cite error: The named reference Shkliarov was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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  77. ^ Cite error: The named reference UN_1_September_statement was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  78. ^ "Human Rights Situation in Belarus in 2020". Viasna. 2021-01-08.


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