Belarusians Fight for Democracy, as “Europe’s Last Dictator” Secures 7th Term

In Belarus, President Alexander Lukashenko claimed victory in his 7th presidential election on Sunday. The 70-year-old autocrat, who has ruled Belarus since 1994, was reported to have won 86.8% of the vote.

Some peaceful protests have began as a result. For example, on Sunday, dozens of people protested outside the Belarusian embassy in Prague’s Troja district to show their discontent with the alleged results.

Since I am a journalist in Prague for Czech Radio’s external service, Radio Prague International, I wanted to find out what the Belarusian diaspora in the Czech Republic (or Czechia) has made of the election.

So, I reached out to the Director of the Office of the Democratic Forces of Belarus in the Czech Republic Kryscina Šyjanok to discuss these developments and the role of the Belarusian diaspora in advocating for a democratic transition in Belarus.

Here is that interview.

“Our Belarusian community is active and united.”

— Kryscina Šyjanok

Photo by Lina Bob on Unsplash

Before we get into the interview, I thought I’d take a second to refresh your memory on some of the recent history of Belarus.