Thrust into the spotlight, Belarus politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya says she’s not ‘that important,’ but her country’s fate is. Until recently, Lukashenko’s government had resisted Moscow’s attempts to expand its military presence in Belarus and rejected requests to open an air base and station additional troops in the country. But amid the political crisis that unfolded in Belarus after Lukashenko’s reelection to a sixth term in August 2020 was met with huge protests, Russia promised its neighbor military support and allocated a $1.5-billion loan for Belarus’ ailing economy. Lukashenko faced months of protests that were triggered by his being announced the winner of an August 2020 presidential vote that the opposition and the West saw as rigged. He responded to demonstrations with a massive crackdown that saw more than 35,000 people arrested and thousands beaten by police.