1 The St Safiia cathedral of the Holy Wisdom, Polatsk, above the river Dzvina. Built in the eleventh century, but with Baroque (Unaite) additions in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

2 Synkovichi fortress- church, in the unique local ‘Gothic-Orthodox’ style, built 1518–56. 3 Euphrosyne’s Cross, twelfth 4 The great Orthodox scholar Cyril century. Also the symbol of the of Turaw. Youth Front.

5 The Resurrection cathedral in Barysaw, north of Minsk, 1874, in the ‘Russian Revival’ style. 6 Icon of Our Lady of Minsk, mid–late sixteenth century, showing a more naturalistic post- Renaissance style.

7 Cathedral of St Virgin Mary, finished 1710; Central European Baroque in the middle of Minsk. 8 The Red Church, Minsk – the Church of SS Simon and Helena, 1905–10. Scene of the demonstrations in December 2010.

9 Valiantsin Volkaw, Minsk: 3rd July 1944, (1955). A Socialist Realist classic showing Soviet troops returning to the ruined city in 1944. A massive painting, it took Volkaw nine years to complete. 10 Marc Chagall, The Blue House (1917).

11 Marc Chagall, Over Vitsebsk (1915–20). The local Jews and Orthodox lead parallel but separate lives. 12 Lukashenka’s neo-Soviet national emblem, replacing the Pahonia after the referendum in 1995. The green outline in the middle is 13 ‘The Belarus’ MTZ – the iconic Soviet actually Belarus. Belarusian product. To some, Belarus is still better known as a tractor.

14 The white-red-white flag, the state flag in 1918, 1943–4 and 1992–5, now a symbol of opposition to Lukashenka; at protests after another election fix in 2006. 15 For Belarus! Slightly more orchestrated demonstrations in support of the government.

16 The new National Library, Minsk. Symbol of Lukashenka’s social contract and kitsch architectural taste. 17 Lukashenka (far right) plays ice hockey against a Russian team. The president’s men lost diplomatically to a Gazprom side, 5–9, in 2008.

18 When first introduced in 1992, the new Belarusian money showed animals in ascending sizes, starting with the ‘hare’ on the one rouble note (above). By 1998 inflation had forced Belarus to move on to buildings instead (below). The reverse of the 1992 ‘hare’ note shows the Pahonia (‘The Chase’), the state symbol of Belarus from 1992 to 1995. 19 The Ministry of Culture produced an advertising campaign called ‘My First Word’, promoting the use of the Belarusian language. These posters were swiftly adapted by protesters who produced alternative versions mocking the campaign – this poster reads ‘My First Word: “Arrest”’.

20 A government propaganda poster, featuring the first line of the national anthem: ‘We Belarusians are peaceful people’. 21 The return of the white-red-white flag at anti-Lukashenka protests in Minsk, August 2020.

22 Belatedly organised pro-Lukashenka rallies were poorly attended. 23 Police violence following the protests.

24 The feminisation of the protests. On the wall you can see a graffito of ‘3%’ – Lukashenka’s supposed poll rating. 25 Lukashenka’s notorious helicopter flight.

26 The opposition leader, Sviatlana Tsikhanowskaya.