By: Michael T. Moran.

Since 1994, the Belarusian government—headed by President Alexander Lukashenko—has systematically repressed viable political opposition. Lukashenko has consolidated political power by curbing media freedoms and the dissemination of information deemed detrimental to the regime. However, the inception of the Internet has provided alternative channels of information collection, which in turn has emboldened Belarusian citizens to question and confront the status quo. In early 2017, however, planned peaceful protests throughout Belarusian urban centers opposing the Lukashenko regime were met with violent backlash from police forces.

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