The Independent: Democratic opposition live in fear of arrest – or worse
The moustachioed former collective farm manager has run Belarus since 1994, playing off the West and Russia during his time in power. AFP

The Independent: Democratic opposition live in fear of arrest – or worse

Sep 8, 2010 at 11:58
Shaun Walker writes:

Walking the streets of Minsk, it's hard to believe that you're inside a vicious dictatorship. There are plenty of nice cafes and restaurants, people are chatty and in the evenings the capital's bars and nightclubs fill up. While much of the countryside is poor, it's nowhere near as depressing as some of the more run-down parts of provincial Russia, and nobody starves to death from poverty here. Read the story here.