Protests in Belarus Threaten to Take Down Europe's Last Dictator

By Homoatrox - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,

Belarus is sometimes referred to as Europe's last dictatorship. Since 1994 it has been ruled by just one man -- Alexander Lukashenko, and he has ruled the country with an iron fist. 

In early August Belarusians went to the polls for presidential elections in which Lukashenko was declared the winner by a wide margin.  Belarusians, however, did not accept the results and took to the streets in record numbers. Government forces cracked down hard and the main opposition candidate was apparently detained and then removed from the country. 

Belarus is bordered on one side by Russia and the other by the European Union. The fate of Lukashenko is of profound importance to Russia and Europe -- and increasingly the United States. 

On the line to provide some context for understanding these recent events in Belarus is Stephen Nix. He is the regional director for Eurasia at the International Republican Institute and a longtime policy hand focusing on former Sovie…