Belarusian students show support for striking workers


Students’ strike at Belarusian State University. 26 October 2020.
Photo: Belsat

On Monday, students of a number of Minsk-based universities joined a nationwide strike.

On October 13, Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s team published the text of People’s Ultimatum they were issuing to Alyaksandr Lukashenka and Belarusian officials. They strongly urged the regime to fulfil the following demands: Lukashenka’s announcing his resignation; putting an end to police violence in the streets; releasing all political prisoners. According to the opposition, if they have not been met at 23.59 on October 25 at the latest, the entire country ‘will take to the streets to peacefully deliver People’s Ultimatum; on October 26, all enterprises will start striking’.

Representatives of Minsk State Linguistic University, Belarusian National Technical University, Belarusian State University, Belarusian State Medical University, Belarusian State Pedadogical University and others expressed their protest by failing to attend the classes and taking to the streets.

Later, there have been reports about students’ unrest in other Belarusian regions, in particular, at Hrodna State University and Vitsebsk State Medical University.

Protesting students near Law Faculty building (BSU). Minsk, 26 October 2020.
Photo: Agata Kwiatkowska / Belsat
Police near Law Faculty building (BSU). Minsk, 26 October 2020.
Photo: Agata Kwiatkowska / Belsat
Protesting stidents near Law Faculty building (BSU). Minsk, 26 October 2020.
Photo: Agata Kwiatkowska / Belsat
‘Give me back my friend!’ Students’ strike at Belarusian State University. 26 October 2020.
Photo: Belsat
Plainclothes police and state-run journos filming students near Law Faculty building (BSU). Minsk, 26 October 2020.
Photo: Agata Kwiatkowska / Belsat

At about 11 am, students began to march to the centre of Minsk: a column was moving from the side of from the Academy of Sciences; several hundred students gathered at TSUM (Central Department Store and then headed towards Victory Square. However, siloviki detained some participants on Independence Avenue:

‘OMON is a terrorist organisation approved by crazy dictator’. Students’ strike at Belarusian State University. 26 October 2020.
Photo: Belsat
Students’ strike at Belarusian State University. 26 October 2020.
Photo: Belsat
‘I will start attending classes again when a certain person lands up in prison’. Students’ strike at Belarusian State University. 26 October 2020.
Photo: Belsat
Minsk, 26 October 2020.
Photo: Agata Kwiatkowska / Belsat
Minsk, 26 October 2020.
Photo: Agata Kwiatkowska / Belsat
Minsk, 26 October 2020.
Photo: Agata Kwiatkowska / Belsat
Siloviki vs. protesting students. Minsk, 26 October 2020.
Photo: Agata Kwiatkowska / Belsat
Minsk, 26 October 2020.
Photo: Agata Kwiatkowska / Belsat
Minsk, 26 October 2020.
Photo: Agata Kwiatkowska / Belsat

Belarusian State Medical University

Belarusian National Technical University

Belarusian State University

Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics

Belarusian State University of Culture and Arts

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