Last August, thousands took to the streets of Belarus to bravely protest against rigged elections, in a mood of defiance and hope that the arm of the nation’s old strongman ruler, Alexander Lukashenko, could finally be bent. Instead, 10 months on, many of Lukashenko’s opponents have either fled the country or – in the shocking case of the journalist Raman Pratasevich last month – been detained in brutal circumstances.
In our big story this week, Andrew Roth looks at how Belarus has deployed a 21st-century reboot of the Soviet-era playbook to crush internal dissent, while Will Hutton reflects on why people power is failing, from Minsk to Hong Kong, and why we should all be concerned.
Often seen as the brains behind Britain’s vote for Brexit, Dominic Cummings is these days a marginal figure in UK politics. Still, a former aide with an axe to grind can be a dangerous one, as evidenced by his explosive claims last week of widespread incompetence in the government’s handling of the pandemic. But with the UK vaccine programme going well, will any of it stick against Boris Johnson’s seemingly bulletproof administration?
With its reputation for sun, sea and sangria, Marbella is one of Europe’s busiest holiday resorts. But tourism has dried up during the pandemic, exposing some far murkier activities on the Spanish coastal city’s streets. Journalists Nacho Carretero and Arturo Lezcano examine the new international crime gangs operating in broad daylight on the Costa del Sol.
Would the planet be saved if we just stopped consuming as much? That’s one theory championed by the environmental writer JB MacKinnon. But would it really be as simple as that, asks Jamie Waters in our features section.
In Culture, there’s an interview with the singer Sinéad O’Connor, who reflects candidly on the highs and lows of her life, while on the Opinion pages, Rebecca Solnit argues that the notion of a moderate political centre is just a prejudice of people for whom the system is working, against those for whom it’s not.
