A summary of New Eastern Europe's special coverage of the Belarusian presidential elections.

Whatever happens in the upcoming presidential elections in Belarus, the growing collective awareness of the society will have an impact on future events.

The Belarusian Election Commission has registered five candidates for the presidential elections which will take place on August 9th.

A gradual politicisation of the society in Belarus has been accelerated by the ongoing pandemic and the ineffective state response, which has led to a rise of solidarity and self-organisation.

President Lukashenka is facing the biggest challenge of his rule. This time the dissent started long before the elections with additional participation of the Belarusian elites and periphery.

Self-organisation, solidarity and politicisation – these are so far the three key words of the Belarusian Spring of 2020.

For the last 25 years the Belarusian society has been living under an authoritarian regime led by Alyaksandr Lukashenka. Even though the Belarusian leader is no longer perceived as the “last dictator in Europe”, he is the post-Soviet leader who has held onto power the longest.

Many of the post-Soviet countries, especially in Eastern Europe, experienced revolutionary moments after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Some saw them more than once: Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia. Almost all of these states have tried to implement the difficult, and at times dramatic, process of establishing democracy and getting closer to the European Union and other western structures. In Belarus a fossilised conservative system, which impedes its political and economic development, has been preserved, maintaining the republic in Russia’s sphere and under its influence.

The last 25 years in Belarus should not be seen as a period of development that was based on some predetermined plan. Rather it is a story of maintaining power, local successes and the failures of one man.

The history of a country can be divided into periods of growth and decline, euphoria and insecurity, crises and rebuilding. In Belarus, however, the past 25 years can be described as the time of Alyaksandr Lukashenka. Yet, a true picture of this period is much more blurred and nuanced. It is therefore difficult to make a clear, one-sided, assessment of the last quarter century and call it a period of decline or growth.