Lukashenko with a Kalashnikov in public: A revolting stunt

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko appeared in public with an assault rifle in his hands to intimidate people, former chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Belarus, Stanislav Shushkevich said.

In his opinion, Lukashenko's appearance with an assault rifle in his hands was a disgusting spectacle.

"Lukashenko has no sense of nobility, no sense of dignity (...). He can give the rifle to his son, although only a mentally abnormal person can teach a child to such behavior. He is perceived in this way in the society. It is seen as "pochvara" which means a "monster" in the Belarusian language, a very dangerous monster," Shushkevich said.

The politician explained that the Belarusian people show their greatness and win in large numbers in their opposition to Lukashenko.

On August 23, Lukashenko was flown to his residence by helicopter. He was holding a Kalashnikov assault rifle in his hands. The head of state was wearing a bulletproof vest and holding a weapon in his left hand. Lukashenka's example was followed by his 15-year-old son Nikolai, who was also dressed in military ammunition.

The public appearance of Alexander and Nikolai Lukashenko with assault rifles and in bulletproof vests became a reason for Internet memes. Users reacted disapprovingly to the fact that the head of the republic took up arms in response to an alleged attempt by Minsk protesters to storm his residence - the Palace of Independence.

Mass protests have been taking place in Belarus for a third consecutive week. People express their protest against the results of the official presidential election. Lukashenko believes that the crisis in Belarus is taking place due to external interference. According to him, coordinators are trying to act according to the color revolutions manuals, while manipulating the actions of the protesters from Poland, Great Britain and the Czech Republic.

Meanwhile, first president of Ukraine, the head of the Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) on resolving the crisis in Donbass, Leonid Kravchuk, said that the Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko had asked his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for military support.

"I know that President Lukashenko turned to President Putin for military help. He asked Putin to help him stop the processes that are taking place in the country because of foreiners' intervention.

If Moscow provides military assistance to the Belarusian authorities, the Trilateral Contact Group should work from a neutral country: Sweden, Switzerland or Finland.

"If Russia provides military assistance and deploys troops in Belarus, then this will no longer be a state, but an occupied territory. Therefore, we would have nothing to do there," said Kravchuk.