United Across 9000 Kilometers

On August 15, demonstrators in Khabarovsk led yet another unauthorized rally against the central government and its meddling in the region (see Readings).

Yet events in Belarus (where observers and protestors allege massive vote fraud in the presidential election) gave the demonstration a new color: specifically, the white and red stripes of the old Belarusian flag. And demonstrators spoke out about the fraud.

In an interview with VOA, engineer Yelizaveta Lipatova said, “I’ve never actually been to Belarus, it’s just that I understand we have a common historical past, which connects us. Our political systems grew up side by side... And so I believe we have to follow each other closely, support each other, not lose sight of each other. I think that Belarusians are doing great, and we can learn a lot from them.”