Resisting 'Europe's last dictator' in Belarus
Exiled dissident Nikolai Khalezin on the origins of the protest movement in Belarus
For more than 20 years, people in Belarus have been protesting against the authoritarian rule of President Alexander Lukashenko - who's been dubbed Europe's last dictator. Lukashenko came to power in a landslide election victory in 1994 but he soon changed the constitution to give himself sweeping new powers. He has remained in office ever since, winning elections which observers say are rigged. Opponents of the regime have faced harassment, violence and arrest. Some are believed to have been kidnapped and murdered by the state. Alex Last has been speaking to the exiled dissident and co-founder of the Belarus Free Theatre, Nikolai Khalezin, about the origins of the protest movement in Belarus.
Photo: A banner compares Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to Stalin and Hitler, during a protest march in Minsk, Belarus, March 15, 2000 (Getty Images)
Last on
More episodes
Broadcasts
- Mon 14 Sep 2020 07:50GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service
- Mon 14 Sep 2020 11:50GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service
- Mon 14 Sep 2020 17:50GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
- Tue 15 Sep 2020 02:50GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service
Podcast
-
Witness History
History as told by the people who were there