Seven Years Ago Belarusians Took To Square

The Belarusian Uprising of Dignity took place on December 19, 2010.

Today is the seventh anniversary of the Belarusian Square.

On December 19, 2010, the presidential elections were held in Belarus. When the polling stations were closed, tens of thousands of people joined the demonstration against the falsification of election results. It was the largest mass street protest in Belarus in recent years. But the peaceful protest was brutally suppressed by the police and internal troops.

Detentions, interrogations and arrests of opposition activists continued for several months. More than 700 people were thrown behind bars, dozens of beaten got into hospitals. Criminal cases were initiated against 46 leaders and opposition activists, including presidential candidates, a lot of them were sent to prison to serve terms of two to six years. Thousands of Belarusians were forced to flee the country, as they feared criminal prosecution.

Afterwards, Natallia Radzina, the Charter97.org editor-in-chief, assessed the events on December 19, 2010: "Ukrainians call Euromaidan a Revolution of Dignity. In 2010, there was an Uprising of Dignity here as well. The people, who took to the streets at that time, started to respect themselves and made the world respect the Belarusian people."