Yelena Leuchanka, a Belarusian basketball player, was recently arrested and kept in the Okrestina detention center for her participation in protests opposing the Lukashenko regime. Her story speaks to the broader human effects of the continuing protests in Belarus, as well as the ways that the state cultivates strong complicity amongst its constituents.
The death of Irina Slavina, co-founder and editor-in-chief of the free journalism KozaPress, is the living evidence of media censorship and violation of free speech in Russia.
A famous Belarusian body-builder recently divorced her husband, a member of the riot police of Minsk, after she received threats following the release of his personal information via a doxing service. Her declaration that her divorce "Is what society wanted" speaks to the growing effect of protests in the region on individuals, as well as whether threats to personal livelihood will grow increasingly relevant in convincing the authorities to enact positive change.
The article describes the protests that took place in Belarus on the 18th of October 2020 and their relation to previous statements by Belarusian government agencies and foreign countries
