BELARUS THE BELLIGERENT

On August 9, Belarus held it’s 6th presidential election. Shockingly – shockingly! – according to official estimates and exit polls, this was yet another resounding victory by the country’s long-standing strongman leader, Alexander Lukashenka. First, the exit polls, and a few hours later an official communique of the electoral commission declared Bat’ko as a victor, with nearly 80% of the votes going his way (by comparison, the official tally for Tsikhanouskaya was under 7%).