Following the falsified August 9th presidential election in Belarus, which declared incumbent Alyaksandr Lukashenka winner with 80% of the vote, Belarusians have taken to the streets in unprecedented numbers. Nearly three weeks later, the protests continue and are joined by striking workers from state-owned enterprises. The regime, however, has fought back with an initial brutal crackdown and continuous arrests of activists, protesters and journalists.

In this episode, Adam catches up with Yahor Azarkevich to get some reactions on the current mood from the ground in Belarus. They discuss the state of the protests, their organization, the Russian factor as well as what possible scenarios may come next.

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Previous episodes on Belarus
- Episode 29: Belarus under the Kremlin’s pressure: https://www.spreaker.com/user/talkeasterneurope/tee-29
- Episode 46: Belarus on the edge: https://www.spreaker.com/user/talkeasterneurope/tee-46

Follow New Eastern Europe’s ongoing coverage of the situation in Belarus here: https://neweasterneurope.eu/tag/belarus-2020-presidential-election/

Who to follow on Twitter:
- Hanna Liubakova: https://twitter.com/HannaLiubakova
- NEXTA media: https://twitter.com/nexta_tv
- Franak Viačorka https://twitter.com/franakviacorka

Music featured in the episode
Mury (walls) - Polish protest song in Belarusian: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdNnxQSmqAI

Talk Eastern Europe is member of the EuroPod Network: https://www.bullemedia.eu/europod

Talk Eastern Europe is produced by Maciej Makulski and Adam Reichardt. The podcast is affiliated with New Eastern Europe, published by the Jan Nowak-Jeziorański College of Eastern Europe in Wrocław. Additional funding for this episode came from the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs s in the framework of the “Public Diplomacy 2020 – New dimension” grant programme.