Free Republic

Dozens of statements from ordinary trackmen and line workers, rail hands and IT specialists, conductors and engineers showed the depth and breadth of opposition in Belarus to Russia’s war, as well as towards Mr Lukashenko. “I know these guys – they are drivers, security guards and maintenance crews,” Franak Viacorka, an adviser to Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, tells The Independent in an interview. ...While the war may help Mr Putin consolidate his hold over Russian society and politics, for Belarus and its autocratic leader the conflict could unravel an already shaky calm imposed by force. Polls conducted by the...

If you have been monitoring the coverage of the conflict in Ukraine, it is amply clear that a narrative is being pushed. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is being compared to Winston Churchill during World War II; he is leading his people during perilous times to become an inspiring figure. He refused a safe passage offer from the U.S. with the quip: “I need ammunition, not a ride”. He streams videos from the deserted streets of Ukraine and posts photos with his cabinet. Photos of Zelenskyy surface in military gear on the battlefront. To sum it up, Zelensky is being portrayed as...