After authoritarian president Alexander Lukashenko, claimed to have secured 80% of the vote in a presidential election, the public's view of his legitimacy is in tatters and his regime faces its biggest crisis since he came to power 26 years ago.<br /><br />The mood at Sunday’s (August 16) rally was stoked further by egregious police violence against thousands of protesters earlier in the week.<br /><br />After Lukashenko called his own rally in Independence Square, the anti-government protesters instead converged on a second world war monument in another part of the city. <br />The carnival atmosphere of the last three days continued, as people cheered, passing cars beeped their horns, and chants of “Resign!” rang out.
