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As we probably should have predicted from the mustache and military uniform, Lukashenko immediately went full dictator. 1994 was the last time we had anything that qualified as a free election. Lukashenko has remained the president for the last few decades.

It's impossible to know how popular he is, but the best-case scenario (for him) is an approval rating of around 40 percent. The official polls and referendums show "pre-invasion Saddam Hussein" levels of support, but some people are quite vocal about their disdain for the dictator. In order to "prove" his legitimacy on the international stage, Lukashenko hired this Nien-Nunb-looking woman:

via Racyja.com

Cracked Editorial Note: We think she looks more like Scarlett Johansson in old person makeup.

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This lady oversaw the 2010 elections, which Lukashenko won with almost 80 percent of the vote. Some of that staggering landslide was probably due to the fact that both of the two largest opposition parties mysteriously pulled out of the election a week before the vote. Belarus responded with the largest protests ever, and the police responded by beating the everloving shit out of those protesters.

That was also the day we all learned that running for president was a fast track to prison. In the wake of the election, every major candidate besides Lukashenko found themselves in jail. That was actually one of the regime's more intelligent policies; using elections to push all their enemies out into the open, and then arresting them. Here's one of the major contenders in that election being carried away after the riot cops beat him senseless: