No one saw it coming when the largest protests in Belarus' history erupted five years ago — in a country that had already been ruled autocratically by Alexander Lukashenko for more than a quarter of a century. At the time, people took to the streets to protest against the results of the August 9, 2020, presidential election, which was rigged in Lukashenko's favor.

They were also angered by the authorities' lack of steps to protect the population against the COVID-19 pandemic and the arrest of the most promising opposition presidential candidates and thousands of citizens. Women organized marches and students took to the streets.

Workers, actors and athletes protested, diplomats were dismissed and doctors and teachers wrote open letters to voice their dissatisfaction. In turn, the country's security forces responded with a wave of violence. Many people were hurt and even killed, with a steady stream of injured people taken directly from police stations to hospitals.

And the Hollywood story of the then-housewife Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who entered the race for the Belarusian presidency in place of her then-imprisoned husband Siarhei Tsikhanouski, ended without a happy ending when she was forced into exile in Lithuania.

Over the years, the 70-year-old Lukashenko has increasingly worked to secure Russia's support. He has helped Russian President Vladimir Putin in the

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