Introduction

On the 8th August 2020, Alexander Lukashenko won his sixth term in office as president of Belarus with 81% of the vote. (1) Many in the country believed these elections were neither free nor fair. Opposition candidates were jailed in the lead-up to the election.

The result – Belarusian citizens rose up. For ten months, a massive protest movement against the Lukashenko regime grew and was televised all over the world. Tens of thousands were injured and arrested, and 15 people were killed (2). Eventually, the government of Belarus won and began a severe crackdown on dissent in Belarus.

In 2025, Lukashenko won his seventh term in office with 87% of the vote. This time, he had almost no opposition and there were no protests, which may not come as a surprise given that the repressive political climate in Belarus has become even stricter in the past 5 years. (3)

Thousands of arrests related to the 2020 protests have been made since 2020, and this still continues today. Almost all dissenters in Belarus are either in prison, have fled or are operating underground, either inside or outside the country. (4)Indeed, the small but serious and well-organised anarchist movement in Belarus played a huge part in the 2020 protests and was consequently forced to go underground in the following years. 

I spoke to activists from Pramen, an anarchist media network operating inside and outside of Belarus, to reveal information about the situation in the country and their fight against authoritarianism in the region. Pramen were heavily involved in the uprising of 2020 and continues to be active today despite many setbacks. They spoke to me about the current political climate in Belarus, the role of anarchism in the struggle against Lukashenko, and their hopes for the future.

Pramen

Pramen is a key actor in the Belarusian anarchist movement alongside BOAK and Revolutionary Action, all of which operate both inside and outside of the country. They describe themselves as “a social-revolutionary anarchist group and information resource”, since they also have a website which reports on information relevant to anti-authoritarian movements not only in Belarus but in Poland, Russia and Ukraine too.

I spoke with members of Pramen, who told me that the anarchist space in Belarus is an important one, but their movement is small. When I asked about criticism on their website directed at Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the leading opposition figure against Lukashenko, who is currently in exile in Lithuania, they told me, 

Anarchism has not grown as a huge movement in Belarus, they feel, because most people's immediate goal is just to get rid of Lukashenko, but few have embraced the decentralised, horizontal society that anarchists advocate for. 

Pramen see themselves as building something more long-term. They have remained involved in direct action in the hopes of growing their movement. 

Through these efforts, the group became

The organisation has had to change its tactics drastically since the 2020 uprising, as state repression intensified: 

This repression has led Pramen to move most of its organising into the online information sphere. Pramen’s actions "are not made for the here and now” but rather to “prepare us for the next steps in the future." The group believes that Belarus' history of authoritarian rule underscores the necessity of an alternative based on decentralisation and self-organisation:

Though state repression has made open organising increasingly dangerous, Pramen and other Belarusian anarchists continue their work both within the country and in exile. Whether through direct action, information campaigns, or international solidarity, the fight against Lukashenko’s dictatorship is ongoing. 

The Role of Anarchists in the 2020 Protests

In 2020, Alexander Lukashenko won his sixth term in office after claiming a staggering 80.1% of the vote. The general public did not accept this result, and an uprising was sparked. Hundreds of thousands of Belarusians took to the streets demanding an end to Lukashenko's 26-year rule. A key figure in the opposition was Svetlana Tikhanovskaya; she had entered the race after her husband, Syarhei, was arrested on corruption charges in the lead up to the vote. Her campaign had inspired thousands of Belarusians, and there seemed to be widespread confidence in her ability to make a change.(5).

 These protests were met by a brutal crackdown from the state, which resulted in thousands of arrests, reports of torture, and the deaths of 15 protestors. Tikhanovskaya fled the country and has since been living as a refugee in Lithuania. The UK, EU and USA have since refused to recognise Lukashenko as the legitimate leader of Belarus.(6)

Anarchist groups such as Pramen played a crucial role in shaping the tactics and ideology of the movement.

Despite the anarchist movement not having huge numbers, groups like Pramen quickly became some of the most visible forces within the rising. "Pramen is not a single group within the anarchist movement. A lot of things were achieved through massive participation of different anarchist affinity groups and organisations that made the anarchist movement so present on the streets and in the media sphere. So in that sense, we were just a smaller piece of a bigger puzzle." The strength of these anarchist groups was rooted in their collective efforts and in the various methods they were able to leverage. 

Lukashenko's regime had essentially created a situation in which Belarus became a country where its people had very little experience in political mobilisation, let alone in the organisation of mass resistance against police. This is where the anarchist movement came to the fore. They were able to show protest and defence tactics which they had learned from anarchist organisations in Poland, Ukraine and Russia, and they utilised a number of tactics such as sabotage, propaganda and mutual aid funding. For these same reasons, Belarusian football ultras were also one of the most prominent actors in the uprising.

State repression against this uprising was firm –  thousands of protestors, journalists and civilians were rounded up and arrested.  Political prisoners, including many anarchists, were allegedly subjected to horrific conditions(10): "constant isolation, torture with heat and cold, horrible food, and many other parts made every day in prison a day of struggle." Anarchists in particular have faced some of the strongest repression:

Despite the crackdown, resistance did not die, but rather it adapted. Thousands of people were forced to flee Belarus, including many anarchists. While large-scale street protests became impossible, alternative forms of struggle have emerged. Many of the anarchists began to organise from outside the country. "We see on the example of Belarusian society that resistance strategies can exist even in totalitarian regimes in very different forms as long as there is hope of any victory." Anarchists have been involved in underground sabotage campaigns, particularly targeting war-related industries and infrastructure.

Others have joined the fight against Russian imperialism more directly, with "members of Belarusian and Russian anarchist organisations participating in the war in Ukraine against Russian invasion as volunteers in the army or doing humanitarian work."

The Pramen activists I spoke with are critical of the hero-cult which has been built around Tikhanovskaya since 2020. While some opposition forces continue to place their hopes in centralised leadership, anarchists argue that meaningful change will only come through sustained, decentralised resistance. "There is a certain part of Belarusian society in exile, but also in Belarus itself, who expects some miracles from Tikhanovskaya in navigating the complicated political crisis. With that, responsibility for changes is pushed away from collective organising into the corner of a few political elites."

Repression and Resistance

Since the wave of repression in 2020, it is believed that up to half a million Belarusians have fled the country(7), most of whom are now in Lithuania or Poland. Since 2020, 250 political prisoners have been released, but 1,250 remain in Belarusian prisons. (8) Some analysts suggest this may be an attempt by Lukashenko to improve relations with the West, particularly in light of potential peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.

Lukashenko has historically pivoted between Russia and the West in an attempt to extract maximum concessions from both by playing one off the other.

In 2023, the UN's OHCHR reported widespread human rights violations, some possibly amounting to crimes against humanity (9). Workers involved in protests faced mass layoffs, and family members of political prisoners were harassed by surveillance and arbitrary detentions. At least 34 media workers remain imprisoned, and many political prisoners allegedly endure torture, isolation, and lack of healthcare. Belarus is the only country in Europe and Central Asia still using the death penalty, with executions carried out in 2022 and 2023, including for crimes such as "high treason.”(9)

Anyone who is suspected of supporting the opposition in any way is liable for arrest. "If you show your politics openly or you act on your political ideals, then you become a target. Political police can pretty much do anything they want with you as soon as they arrest you. Torture became normality in the current political atmosphere," Pramen activists tell me.

Anarchists have been a particular target of the regime. Many members of Pramen are currently in prison and subjected to extremely harsh conditions. "Political prisoners are rarely left on their own and quite often prosecuted again after ending up in prison for formal violations of prison rules. Anarchists, as many others, were exposed to torture during arrest, in custody, and then in prison." Prisoners have allegedly been suffocated with plastic bags, "their skin on the feet was cut off," or exposed to the notorious "gas room"—a small, sealed space where they are pepper-sprayed until suffocation.

Anarchist Black Cross Belarus, an organisation which supports and documents anarchist prisoners in Belarus, claim that there are 22 anarchist prisoners currently in Belarusian prisons. ABC Belarus has been vital in providing this material and moral support to political prisoners. They organise fundraisers for prisoners' families and spread information all across Europe despite the obstacles in their way. “Since 2020, there has been a big push from the regime to criminalise any type of solidarity. For example, sometimes parents of anarchist prisoners are prosecuted for supporting 'extremist formations' as part of the crackdown on solidarity structures." 

In 2021, several members of Pramen were arrested and charged with “attempting to organise mass unrest” and “terrorism”(8). During the arrest of Alexandr Belov and Evgeny Rubashko, Rubashko claims he was tortured and strangled with a plastic bag, as well as being force-fed an unknown alcoholic liquid. He later shared details of his ordeal in an interview. 

In August 2021, another wave of raids led to the detention of Artem Dmitrievich Solovey and Artem Sergeyevich Solovey. During Dmitrievich’s detention, he claims he was tortured and threatened with rape unless he unlocked his phone.

In January 2022, the anarchists were charged under Article 361-1 for allegedly being members of Pramen, which had been labelled an extremist organisation just months earlier. Their trial began in March 2022 but was swiftly closed to the public by the judge at the prosecutor's request. In April 2022, the Minsk Regional Court sentenced the four men to five years each. All four were added to the “list of citizens involved in extremist activity.”

A poster highlighting some of the arrested Pramen activists.

Human rights organisations and activists have denounced these arrests, amongst many others in Belarus, as politically motivated. Three known members of Pramen are currently serving sentences in Belarusian prisons and are due to be released in 2026. (10)

Pramen’s online organising has been made harder by the recent waves of repression. “The Belarusian state is doing everything possible to prevent such communication between people in Belarus and the diaspora. For example, by performing random phone checks at work or in schools and trying to catch communication with extremist groups or individuals." As a result, Belarusian culture has become securitised. Activists and ordinary citizens are now forced to be constantly vigilant about their communications and interactions. This environment of fear is designed to isolate and weaken resistance movements, but it has also forced the opposition to adapt. Despite the immense challenges, acts of resistance continue. While the regime has silenced large-scale street protests, other forms of defiance have emerged. "We see on the example of Belarusian society that resistance strategies can exist even in totalitarian regimes in very different forms as long as there is hope of any victory." 

Waves of arrests continue to this day in relation to people's involvement in the 2020 protests. In 2025, Lukashenko secured a seventh term in office, claiming 86.8% of the vote. The election was widely condemned by international observers, including the EU.(11)

This time, there was no real opposition. One of the so-called opposition candidates was Sergei Syrankov, leader of the Communist Party. Throughout his campaign, he persistently endorsed Lukasehnko, stating that there was “no alternative”. Vladimir Putin praised Lukashenko for his victory.(12)

Following this election, there were no protests as there had been in 2020. The obvious reason for this was due to the population's fear of the hardened security regime in Belarus, mixed with the fact that many would-be activists were either jailed or forced to flee. This was true to a large extent, but the activists at Pramen, whom I spoke to, also explained to me a much darker reason why there is no mass movement to overthrow Lukashenko this time round. “There is very little faith that [the] current street protests in Belarus can bring any changes. A lot of people, who participated in the protests in 2020, understand that Putin will drown Belarus in blood as soon as there is any chance of change”. Belarusians have seen what has happened in Ukraine, and it seems that the majority of society has taken a ‘better the devil you know’ attitude.

This is why many Belarusians who strive to end the Lukashenko regime, including many anarchists, have now changed their focus elsewhere and have gone to volunteer in the war in Ukraine with the belief that disempowering Putin will open the floodgates to make changes in Belarus. (13) 

According to Belarusian human rights monitors, over 50,000 individuals have gone through arbitrary detention for taking part in or being associated with peaceful protests since 2020, with 6,550 prosecuted and convicted, and 3,697 given custodial sentences. Many were subjected to torture and other ill-treatment. At least seven political prisoners have died in detention since 2021.(14)

Future of Anarchism in Belarus

The future of Belarus is uncertain and it will likely be determined by other geopolitical factors in the region.

Despite Lukashenko's attempts to silence dissent, anarchists and others continue to play a role in resisting. As the "general political situation in the country gets worse with every year," according to Pramen activists, the ability for anarchism or any other non-authoritarian ideas to gain traction seems more difficult. As the authoritarian grip tightens, many in Belarus have lost hope that street protests could bring about change. The looming presence of Russian imperialism, coupled with the brutality of the Belarusian regime, creates a climate of despair for many who once believed a change was possible. There is speculation that Lukashenko is gearing up for retirement and is grooming one of his sons to take over the office, creating a sort of Lukashenko dynasty.(15)

Despite the obstacles faced at home, many Belarusian activists are fighting in Ukraine and assisting with anarchist resistance groups in Russia, such as BOAK. "Resistance strategies can exist even in totalitarian regimes in very different forms as long as there is hope of any victory." This hope persists, and it manifests in acts of sabotage, clandestine organising, and support for global resistance movements, particularly in relation to the war in Ukraine.

I am told that "the growth of authoritarianism in the western world for sure can only strengthen the Belarusian regime." The spread of authoritarian ideas globally has only made the struggle more urgent, with Belarus seen as a key battleground in the fight against the spread of oppressive regimes.

When I asked Pramen how they foresee the next 5-10 years in Belarus, they commit themselves to continuing their fight. “This is something hard to imagine. In 2020 we believed that the time had come for freedom. In 2021 we believed that we would rise again very soon. However we are three years into war in Ukraine, the world is rapidly changing and in that atmosphere it is hard to say something for sure, apart from we will do everything possible to make it free.”

Bibliography

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