Ingo Petz

Since the mass protests in Belarus in 2020, the Lukashenka regime has undergone a totalitarian transformation. Its many instruments of repression serve a single end: to prevent civil society from becoming the driving force of another revolution.

From confrontation to subversion: rock bands, writers, artists and cultural organizations have been central to the evolution of the anti-regime protests in Belarus and the unique form of solidarity and resistance that defines them.

On 9 August, presidential elections will take place in Belarus. As on all previous occasions during the past two and a half decades, the regime has disabled the democratic opposition. This time, however, the protests are unprecedented in their size, confidence and breadth of appeal. Has there been a political awakening in the country?

Something unbelievable is happening in Belarus: people, especially in the provinces, are protesting, despite their fear of political repressions. Meanwhile, in the urban centres, a pop-cultural movement has begun seeking a new Belarusian identity. Against the background of economic crisis and tensions with Russia, the regime is being forced to rethink its neo-Soviet cultural policy.

Für die Demokratisierung in Belarus gibt es einen Partner, der bislang zu wenig zur Kenntnis genommen wurde. Seit Mitte der 1990er Jahre hat sich eine kulturelle Opposition aus jungen Menschen gebildet. Deren Kreativität und Aktivitäten sind ein zentraler Motor für demokratische Veränderungen. Das haben die Proteste nach den Präsidentschaftswahlen im März 2006 gezeigt. Demokratieförderung aus dem Westen darf nicht nur auf die Oppositionsparteien blicken. Es gilt, diese neue informelle Opposition stärker zu berücksichtigen und ihr ein Forum in Europa zu bieten. In diesem Milieu entsteht eine junge Gegenelite, die das Belarus von morgen formen wird.