"History has shown that when people stop fearing an autocrat, they will no longer obey him.

[soothsayer]

That link has an excellent article. Inspirational and uplifting.

Link to tweet

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Damon M. Wilson
@DamonMacWilson
"History has shown that when people stop fearing an autocrat, they will no longer obey him. If the mass-based disobedience turns into well-organized nonviolent resistance, the tyrant falls," writes Maciej Bartkowski of @civilresistance

The People vs. Lukashenko: Women-Led Resistance on
https://t.co/mAgV8F7q6R?amp=1

Snip

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko is facing the biggest challenge to his 26-year authoritarian rule over 9.5 million Belarusian citizens.

He is learning firsthand about the “power of the powerless” (a phrase used by famous Czechoslovak dissident and former Czech president Václav Havel to describe nonviolent resistance against Soviet rule) as he and others witness a major awakening of a heretofore withdrawn and passive population. In a break with precedent, his political opposition is led by several women who, until recently, were not widely known. This combined with widespread nonviolent resistance happening on the eve of the August 9th presidential elections is upsetting expectations, and shaking Lukashenko’s rule to the core.

Grassroots mobilization against Lukashenko quickened its pace when he imprisoned Viktor Babariko, one of his key opposition contenders, and another one, Valery Tsepkalo, fled Belarus fearing prosecution. Meanwhile, the election committee refused to register the main opposition candidates to run against Lukashenko.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya , a teacher and the wife of an imprisoned video-blogger, stepped in. According to Lukashenko, she was a “poor thing” and likely to “collapse” under the pressure of politics, so authorities didn’t see Tsikhanouskaya as a major threat and allowed her to register as an independent candidate.