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Eighteen years as president, and Belarus is beginning to feel the strain of an economic crisis that risks undermining his so called social contract (Photo: mb7art)

Feature

Belarus' brutal crackdown – the 19 December anniversary

Eighteen years as president, and Belarus is beginning to feel the strain of an economic crisis that risks undermining his so called social contract (Photo: mb7art)

On 19 December one year ago, 50 000 people gathered at Independence Square in central Minsk to protest the reelection of Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko. His response was decisive and violent. Around 600 were arrested and thousands of others beaten.

He has since tightened his grip on power. In November (2011), he promoted heads of the region and the mayor of Minsk to major generals. He also reintroduced a blacklist of banned artists and musicians in the beginning of the year....

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Author Bio

Nikolaj joined EUobserver in 2012 and covers home affairs. He is originally from Denmark, but spent much of his life in France and in Belgium. He was awarded the King Baudouin Foundation grant for investigative journalism in 2010.

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