Lukashenka Speaking About Himself: Cockroach With Mustache, Three Percent

The usurper said that three percent of his supporters “had some rush in the head”.

On March 31, Aliaksandr Lukashenka again recalled the elections and protests that took place in August 2020. The dictator recalled his rating of three percent. He announced about three percent, commenting on the ratings, according to which more than 80 percent of Belarusians oppose the deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus.

“Do you remember the elections? Three percent. A cockroach with a mustache, three percent and more. How did this three percent thing come about? Three percent were sitting there and had some, excuse me, rush in the head,” said Lukashenka.

"Sasha the 3%" is a political Internet meme that emerged during the election campaign for the presidential elections in Belarus in 2020. It became one of Lukashenka's nicknames and was widely used during the protests.

At the end of May 2020, a number of large Belarusian publications, as well as local Telegram channels, conducted many online surveys. Readers had to choose the candidate they would vote for in the presidential election. In almost all polls, the dictator received from 1 to 3 percent.

After the ban on online polls about the elections in Belarus in early June 2020, Lukashenka was nicknamed “Sasha the 3%”, as a reference to Lukashenka’s low ratings in online polls. Belarusians began to jokingly fear that the figure 3 and the “%” symbol would now be banned in the country, and the media began to publish “veiled” polls.

In June 2020, graffiti “Sasha the Three Percent”, “3%”, “Go away” and “Stop Cockroach” appeared in the cities of Belarus, in particular after the detention of opposition candidates. The inscriptions appeared on garbage cans, at bus stops, in numerous Internet memes. During actions of solidarity with detained politicians and activists on June 18-20, many Belarusians took to the streets in T-shirts with the “Sasha 3%” meme.

In addition, Belarusian companies began to offer their customers a 3% discount, both shops and gas station chains.

On August 15, 2020, Chuck Norris recorded a video message to Lukashenka, calling him “Sasha zero percent” and “Mr. Cockroach”.