The waves of protests that have swept Belarus since its disputed Aug. 9 election that pitted longtime ruler Alexander Lukashenko against Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, took many by surprise—even in Belarus. But the seeds of the uprising were planted years ago.
Over the past decade, Belarusian society has changed immeasurably. Although the country’s economy has generally stagnated, a middle class based on information-technology specialists and minor entrepreneurs emerged, more people had the money to travel all around Europe, and social media revealed beyond dispute that the world outside Belarus looks pretty different from the picture presented by the official state propaganda.
