Rare Protests On The Streets Of Belarus

People shout slogans at a rally in Minsk, Belarus
People shout slogans at a rally in Minsk, Belarus, Wednesday, March 15, 2017. Wednesday's march in the capital and smaller rallies at several other Belarusian cities were the latest in a series of demonstrations against the law that obliges citizens to pay the equivalent of $250 if they work less than half the year and do not register with state labor exchanges. A banner in the background reads "Police, go over to the side of the people. The people will not offend you." (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
People shout slogans at a rally in Minsk, Belarus
People shout slogans at a rally in Minsk, Belarus, Wednesday, March 15, 2017. Wednesday's march in the capital and smaller rallies at several other Belarusian cities were the latest in a series of demonstrations against the law that obliges citizens to pay the equivalent of $250 if they work less than half the year and do not register with state labor exchanges. A banner in the background reads "Police, go over to the side of the people. The people will not offend you." (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

Rare Protests On The Streets Of Belarus

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Protests in Belarus are rare — the country has been under authoritarian rule since the 1990s. But this week, several thousand people took to the streets in the country’s capital, Minsk, as well as in other parts of the country to protest President Alexander Lukashenko and a tax on the unemployed.

We take a look at what’s happening in Belarus with Matthew Rojansky, director of the Kennan Institute at the Wilson Center.