Europe’s Last Dictatorship Shows Violent Side

Dictator Alexander Lukashenko claims to have won re-election in Belarus, a landlocked country of 10 million in Eastern Europe, with 80 percent of the vote. But opposition candidates claim election fraud, thousands turned out to protest and the nation’s security forces hit back hard. “The police and intelligence services in Belarus are focused primarily on the protection of one person: Lukashenko himself,” writes Benjamin Bidder for Spiegel Online. “Keeping him in power looks to be priority number one.” The election dispute will likely complicate Belarus’ relations with Europe and the US. Relations between Europe and the US with Russia could sour, too, as Russian officials called the results “legitimate” and an “internal matter.” – YaleGlobal