Belarus: Rebelling against a “democratic” dictatorship

<p>Belarus is convulsed by pro-democracy demonstrations, the opposition leader has fled in fear and the EU is threatening to reimpose sanctions. Yet pig-farmer turned strongman Alexander Lukashenko shows no sign of relinquishing his 26-year grip on power. Professor <strong>Andrew Wilson</strong> of UCL, the author of <em>Belarus: The Last European Dictatorship</em>, talks to <strong>Dorian Lynskey</strong> about how Lukashenko rigs elections, the prospects for bringing real democracy to Belarus, and who’s keeping “Batka” in power.&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><ul><li>“There’s YouTube video of someone shouting ‘Just swap the votes!’”&nbsp;</li><li>“Lukashenko was shocked by Putin’s attack on Crimea. Even dictators want to stay in power.”</li><li>“Lukashenko hasn’t done anything clever. It’s just the police vs the demonstrators.”</li></ul><p><br></p><p><em>Presented by Dorian Lynskey. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producer Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. </em><strong><em>THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production</em></strong></p> &#10;&nbsp;<br /><hr><p style='color: grey; font - size: 0.75em; '>See <a style='color: grey; ' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.</p>