Protests in Belarus are the biggest in the country's history. Here's how a government crackdown backfired after a slew of videos and photos circulated showing the sheer brutality of police and security officers. nytimes.com/2020/08/17/wor…
The demonstrations that followed the disputed presidential election on Aug. 9 began peacefully, but quickly turned violent when police and other security forces attacked. Here you can see six police officers beating a protestor who is lying on the ground. This happened in Minsk.
In Grodno, western Belarus, a member of OMON (special police) was filmed repeatedly kicking a person that's being held on the ground by a colleague. “What right do you have to beat your own people,” a bystander screams as she's pushed away.
There are plenty of videos of police officers kicking, dragging and beating protesters that pose no apparent threat. Here's about a dozen black-clad officers ganging up on a single detainee near Pushkinskaya in Minsk, the Belarusian capital.
Though the majority of protesters were peaceful, some were seen attacking officers, like here in Brest, western Belarus.
There were also seen of cars driving into riot police, like this dramatic scene in Minsk. Here's another instance: .
Speaking of vehicles, there are multiple videos that show police officers smashing apparent random cars passing by. Here are two instances (t.me/belamova/8623, t.me/belamova/8592) at what appears to be the same location in Minsk on Aug. 11.
On several occasions, crowds turned violent while fighting to defend and free protesters from police officers who were detaining them on the street. Here’s such an instance in Grodno. The detainee managed to escape. nytimes.com/2020/08/17/wor…
On Aug. 10, Aleksandr Taraikovsky was killed in Minsk. Authorities claimed he was killed by an “unidentified explosive device” that blew up in his hands. Video analyses by @CITeam_en and @nytimes suggest that he was likely shot by security forces. Here's why we think that. 👇
Three synced videos by @belamova, @euroradio and @AP show that an officer fired their weapon into the direction of Mr. Taraikovsky, who is standing approximately 45 ft away with his hands raised, posing no apparent threat. nytimes.com/2020/08/17/wor…
Medical experts told us Mr. Taraikovsky injury appears to be consistent with a wound resulting from a high-velocity projectile, not an explosive device.
We don't know what exact projectile may have killed Mr. Taraikovsky, but security forces at the intersection were spotted with Benelli M4 shotguns, MP5 machine guns and a GM-94 grenade launcher, as @RALee85 and @AbraxasSpa pointed out.
A day later, on Aug. 11, brothers Yevgeny and Dmitry Ukraintsev drove through the streets of Minsk, waving a white-red-white opposition flag. They were stopped by an armored van with no license plates. Part of the encounter was filmed.
“Within 30 seconds a shot rang, splinters of glass started pouring down,” Yevgeny told us. “They dragged us out of the car and started brutally beating us.” The masked men asked why they'd used a flag different from the official flag. nytimes.com/2020/08/17/wor…
While Yevgeny remained detained, his brother was taken to a hospital where doctors removed two projectiles from his left lung. According to surgeons, a rubber bullet missed his heart by millimeters. 
These instances are an example of large-scale punitive operations, says @TanyaLokshina. She traveled to Minsk last week. “Authorities were acting with the objective of frightening people into submission, and silencing and discouraging them from returning to the streets.”
At least 6,700 protesters were detained last week. Hundreds more were injured and beaten, according to @viasna96. As protesters were released, dozens accounts of torture were published. Medics protested with photos of injuries they had to treat.
A Russian journalist recounted how officers made him lie face down alongside other prisoners on a “living carpet” of blood, with some detainees lying on top of each other. Some say they were denied food for three days. occrp.org/en/investigati…
The protestor whose brother was shot in the lung, described his experience in Akrestina, a notorious detention facility in Minsk. “There were so many people I couldn’t squat [...] Some people gave up and relieved themselves right there under their feet.” nytimes.com/2020/08/17/wor…
Public outrage at the government's brutality is drawing in people whose loyalty had once been unquestioned. In Lida, police cars honked and flashed their lights in solidarity with protesters. Across the country, calls on Mr. Lukashenko to quit. nytimes.com/2020/08/17/wor…
At least six police officers from that same city, Lida, published their resignation letters, along with their identification cards and badges. Such acts of defiance had been virtually unheard-of during Mr. Lukashenko's presidency.
Another police chief, Vitaly Belizhenko, also announced his resignation on Instagram. “I couldn’t put up with disproportionate use of force against peaceful protesters, arrests without good reason, illegal custody records,” he told us. instagram.com/p/CD1FCyWBjcR
In a separate but equally dramatic display of opposition, several former paramilitary officers with the Interior Ministry (Внутренние войска МВД) published videos showing them throwing away and burning their uniforms. Read what they said: nytimes.com/2020/08/17/wor…
“I swore an oath to my nation. But looking at what’s happening in Minsk, I can’t be proud of where I served,” says former officer Anatoli Novitsky, 27, while discarding his uniform. He hopes his now viral video makes current officers think about whom they're loyal to, he told me.
But perhaps the most apparent threat to Mr. Lukashenko’s political future has come in the form of demonstrations at large state-run enterprises across the country. Just this morning, Mr. Lukashenko was jeered at. This is unprecedented.
“There is an unprecedented level of solidarity and unification of people,” says @kshmatsina. “Even the fear of torture cannot stop people from protesting anymore.” #Belarus
This visual breakdown was a @nytimes collaboration between New York, DC, Moscow and Minsk, w/ @CoraEngelbrecht, Oleg Matsnev, @ajchavar, @johnismay, @antontroian, @dim109, @INechepurenko and @malachybrowne.
I've an ongoing thread on the Belarus protests here but if you want to be properly updated on Twitter, follow @franakviacorka @HannaLiubakova @TadeuszGiczan @RALee85 @antontroian @INechepurenko @Andrew__Roth @Mortis_Banned @ain92ru @Alexey__Kovalev ...
(A note on the choice of words: it'd be better to call these guys former (para)military servicemen, since the Belarusian Ministry of Interior's Internal Troops are similar to a draft-based gendarmerie. H/t to the always sharp @ain92ru.)
