Despite the intimidation attempts by the regime of President Alexandr Lukashenka came on Thursday evening in Minsk tens of thousands together, the opposition candidate for the presidential elections in Belarus on 9. To support August, Svetlana Tichanowskaja. Human rights activists were in the peoples friendship Park of the capital, at least 63,000 people. According to the news portal Tut.by it was the re-election of the largest gathering in 1991, begun in history of independent Belarus. The mood was euphoric, a number of participants said they had come to create a better country for their children.

Friedrich Schmidt

Political correspondent for Russia and the CIS in Moscow.

F. A. Z.

Tichanowskaja the wife of the for two months on charges of planning of regulatory violations, detained Bloggers, Sergei Tichanowskij is. Lukaschenkas investigators connect him since Thursday, even with the recent arrest of 33 Russian mercenaries in Belarus. The men are being investigated for the preparation of terrorist attacks and “mass unrest”; this second charge will now be levied against Tichanowskij.

“My God, what a Revolution?”

His wife said in the peoples ‘ friendship Park, no one believe that the fighter had been set up for the elections to Belarus sent. The power representatives spoke of an impending roll-over. “My God, what a Revolution?”, Tichanowskaja asked. “Guys, we’re just honest elections. What is a Revolution? Why provoke your own people? We need no fighters. We are peaceful people.“

Tichanowskaja called on to examine the media reports that mercenaries from the notorious Russian private military company “Wagner” Minsk as a transit station used on the way to places of use in Syria, and in African countries such as Libya and Sudan. These reports had just confirmed in front of the Minsk election campaign event, the Russian foreign Ministry: The group of 33 Russian citizens, I want to fly from Minsk to Istanbul and all Tickets and documents necessary for that. But then the group came “from unknown reason” on Board the flight and been forced to wait for new Tickets from a Belarusian company, the Ministry announced in Moscow.