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Unforgettable Pictures Of Minsk Spring

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Unforgettable Pictures Of Minsk Spring

On April 26, 1996, dozens of thousands Belarusians took on to the "Chernobyl Way" rally.

On April 26, on the 10th anniversary of the Chernobyl catastrophe, a mass rally was held in the Francysk Skaryna avenue in Minsk, starting from the Academy of Sciences, followed by the demonstration of the opposition forces, the website 90s.by recalls.

The event was attended by over 60 thousand people. Zianon Pazniak, who illegally returned to Belarus (after the action he should again leave the country) made a speech. The rally was marked with a minute of silence in memory of the murdered Dzhokhar Dudayev.

The authorities banned the action and sent special squad to suppress the protest: the SWAT, the Special Forces, and the Army units. Tough clashes with riot police occurred in Minsk streets. About 100 people were injured, there also were the wounded. After the rally, there were arrests near the Palace of Sports. At about 11 p.m., the security services attacked the headquarters of the Belarusian Popular Front. Deputy of the Supreme Council Pavel Znavets was arrested.

The "Chernobyl Way" became the largest event of the Belarusian Spring 1996 and for many subsequent years. It remains a symbol of the heroic resistance to Lukashenka’s regime.

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