'It’s an invisible fight’: Belarus’ continued struggle for freedom

By: Leila Shannon

Belarus’ state-sponsored hijacking of a Ryanair plane at the end of May 2021 focused international media attention on just how far President Alexander Lukashenko is willing to go to suppress the voices that oppose him. This repression of dissidents has persisted since August 2020, when citizens took to the streets to protest against vote-rigging and corruption in the recent presidential election. Nevertheless, even in the face of violent repression, the protest movement in Belarus remains strong. I was given the opportunity to speak to a young citizen of Belarus who has witnessed the protest movement as it has grown and adapted, and who herself suffered at the hands of the repressive regime when she was arrested and detained in November 2020. She asked to remain anonymous, and for the purpose of this article she shall be referred to as Elena. Interviewing her showed me how the protest movement has far from disappeared, and how the continued repression exercised by Lukashenko’s regime will not quell the efforts of those who are unceasingly fighting for Belarus’ free future.

The Evolution of the Protest Movement

Belarus’ protest movement has changed greatly since the mass protests of August 2020. Elena talked about how the protests have moved from city centres to commuter towns, and even to smaller neighbourhoods. “It’s easier to escape because your house is near". She described the sense of achievement she felt when the regular Sunday protests began to take place in local areas, rather than in city centres. “The first time it was good, really good, because they expected that we would come to the centre of the city but we didn’t”. This confusion led to a welcome lack of violence. However, the following weekend, the tactics of the military officials tasked to oppress the protesters changed. They began closing crossroads: “when you have an open road or open area they can arrest you easier”.

It was in one of these more localised protests that Elena was arrested. The military arrived and many people fled, but she and some others noticed that women were not being targeted, so they decided to stay put. It wasn’t long before this changed, and many of the remaining protesters were arrested. Elena described the truck which she was transported in as being full “of women, only maybe three or two men”.

The interviewee described the protest movement as an “invisible fight”, involving the creation and display of stickers of the red and white flag, which represented Belarus following its independence from the USSR in 1991. Belarus’ official flag has since changed, but the previous version is now a symbol of opposition to the Lukashenko regime. However, this kind of “invisible” protest comes with the risk of severe consequences. She talked about the fear that she felt when placing a flag in a public space. “If they see you and grab you making that, they can do anything. They can give you some six or five years in prison.” The severe repercussions that might arise from any form of association with the red and white flag were seen in early May 2021, when Natalia Sivtsova-Sedushkina received a large fine for wearing red and white socks in public.

The Suppression of Protests

Elena also discussed the fear that many feel whilst participating in a protest. Many young men, including those as young as eighteen, were recruited by the army to suppress the protests. “They started to fight with, for example, women, with men, with anybody - it doesn’t matter”. The anger displayed by these young men really left an impact on her: “They are really young and so angry, and I just couldn’t understand why, because it’s really people who are just 18 years old or something like that”.

Fear during protests is also provoked by the weapons held by officials. “You don’t know if it’s a real gun, if it’s a gun with plastic bullets… you really don’t know because they all have guns”.

Elena recounted the story of a peaceful protest she was involved in, staged in memory of a fellow protester who had died soon after being arrested at an earlier demonstration. Around 200 people attended the peaceful protest, with candles and flowers for remembrance. The protesters then found themselves encircled by the military, who started to grab men from the crowd. The remaining protesters were then told to go home. “When I came home I knew that 25 people survived. Only 25 girls. All other people were arrested”.

Conditions for Political Prisoners

Some media outlets, such as DW News, have presented testimonies of terrible conditions for political prisoners in Belarus, something that Elena experienced herself following her arrest. “They took you to shower one time per week. And they just took you to walk in the cell outside maybe two times, maybe one time a week, as they want”. The theme of prison officers treating prisoners in an arbitrary manner continued. She described how mattresses were removed from detainees simply because “You’re just joking too much or smiling too much or talking too much”. “Do you imagine how the prison beds are? It’s like the metal stuff and it’s hard to sleep there without a mattress, even with a mattress it’s hard, and they just can remove it because they maybe decided it was a funny day for you”.

Despite having been sent three letters during her detention, she only received one. “Two letters I have never seen. I’ve never seen them, I don’t know where they are, no idea”. This denial of contact with the outside world is yet another example of the cruel ways in which protesters have been treated during their incarceration.

Belarus’ Future

When talking about the future of her country, Elena believes that more decisive action has to be taken both within Belarus and by foreign leaders. She sees striking as effective, and stated that “First Belarusian citizens must do it themselves, must start themselves”. She also believes that protesting can no longer harm Lukashenko. “When you come to the street and say that ‘we are against you’ and ‘we don’t want to see you’ he doesn’t care. He just arrests us.”

Our interview was conducted just after the Ryanair flight was grounded in Belarus in order to arrest the journalist Roman Protasevich. At the time, the possible banning of flights between the EU and Belarus was being discussed, something which soon became a reality. Elena reflected on the possibility of a flight ban positively. Despite understanding that it would affect her and other Belarusians, she saw stronger sanctions as a necessity. She articulated the frustration of many Belarusians confronted with empty words from foreign politicians. “If, for example, Europe says that ‘we really care about [Belarus]… we are really worried about [Belarus]’, it doesn’t help”.

Although she sees mass mobilisation as a way out of the situation, she also understands why so many Belarusians are reluctant to take action. After 27 years of Lukashenko, she believes that many citizens are accustomed to a lack of democracy. “For almost 30 years they had no choice, they had no voice, and now for them it’s like a habit’. She also discussed the fear of many people with families, who are aware that their children could easily be taken into the state’s care as punishment for protesting.

One of the moments in the interview that really resonated with me was hearing the hope with which Elena described August’s protests. “It was beautiful, it was wonderful. it’s like you just feel like a big part of a nation just joined and constantly together and just starting to make something”. Nonetheless, the hope that she described was short-lived amongst some who believed that Lukashenko would quickly be ousted by the protests. “People maybe thought that it would last like two days... but no. It doesn’t work like that. 27 years. It started 27 years ago. In two days it couldn’t be changed”. Speaking to Elena gave me tentative hope for Belarus’ future, offering an insight into the lives and mindsets of those who are opposing Lukashenko despite all the risks. However, Lukashenko’s repressive structures remain are strengthening, as demonstrated by the 18-year prison sentence that was given to the opposition leader Sergei Tikhanovsky in December 2021. The future looks bleak, but what is clear is that despite Lukashenko’s best efforts, protesters’ hope for a democratic Belarus cannot be crushed.

A protest in Minsk. Source: Human Rights Watch

March of Unity Rally, Minsk, September 2020. Source: Human Rights Watch