Since the beginning of August, and the declaration of the fraudulent election result that saw Alexandr Lukashenko claim victory, mass protests have rocked Belarus. Protesters have meet violence, repression and arrests. A turning point in the protests, when the police regime was forced to ease its violent repression, came when workers in over a hundred factories set up strike committees and declared strikes. One of the most effective strikes took place at Belaruskali in the city of Soligorsk, where miners produce one fifth of the world’s supply of potash. Following this, five members of the strike committee: Anatoly Bokun, Yuri Korzun, Sergey Cherkasov, Sergey Taras and Pavel Puchenya were arrested and have since been in jail
