All language subtitles for Belarus- At the Heart of Europs Last Dictatorship

They will soon be in Ukraine.

The Belarusians
heat up their tank engines.

Apart from this one.

Although it may look threatening,

it's actually reserved
for tourists like us.

In Belarus, journalists are not welcomed.

So to avoid being spotted,
we pretended to be tourists to understand

why this country
has become a strategic ally of Russia.

The nostalgia of the former USSR
can be seen throughout the country,

particularly the Stalin Line,
a bit like the Maginot Line

from the Second World War
of the Soviet Empire.

Yes, because 20 soldiers
crossed back 10 days,

they couldn't leave,
they slept and shot from there.

Please come inside.

In order not to arouse suspicion,
we filmed with our phones

and inconspicuous cameras.

However, if our guide doubts us even
slightly, he's obliged to denounce us.

This ammunition cannot shoot.
-Yes, it's very heavy.

Yes, its time speed
is 12 shots per minute.

You push this hook inside.

Outside, we witness a shooting session
with live ammunition this time.

Today, some extras
are also rehearsing a battle.

The image sends shivers
down our spine as at the same time,

the sound of marching
resounds from the border,

which separates Belarus and Ukraine.

Over there,
it's no longer a mere rehearsal.

President Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin
have reached a decision.

In three days, the 30,000 men
of the Russian army stationed in Belarus

will invade Ukraine.

[Russian spoken audio]

We have infiltrated one of the most
secret and isolated countries

in the world at the worst time.

We began rather relaxed,
but our smiles from those first days

quickly gave way to anxiety.

Our trip did not go as planned.

Belarus is very often labeled
as the last dictatorship in Europe.

Its president,
the almighty Alexander Lukashenko,

is determined to defy the world.

In his country,
international law does not exist.

To arrest an opponent,
he hijacks an airliner.

Europe imposes sanctions on him.

He punishes them by sending hundreds
of thousands of refugees to its borders.

[Russian spoken audio]

Demonstrators demand his resignation.

Lukashenko orders
his police to shoot them.

Why is he not afraid of anyone?

Because he has pledged his allegiance
to the Russian Goliath.

Vladimir Putin protects him.

Ally and accomplice,
the two men used the same methods.

Today, like North Korea,
this totalitarian state

is completely closed to the Western world.

However, we managed to spend almost
two weeks here pretending to be tourists,

in which we were able to meet
his opponents who live on the edge.

[Russian spoken audio]

A permanent surveillance
which oppresses the Belarusian youth

and forces them to live in fear.

We don't trust anyone these days,
we don't trust you.

Okay, no problem.

I don't know whether or not you're
a fucking agent or something like that?

What?

Many flee the country to avoid prison.

Yesterday, I received letter,

with a threat to decapitate me.

[Russian spoken audio]

Even four year old children are not safe
from the barbarity of the KGB,

the Belarusian secret police.

They sent to every kindergarten
a video and asked the director

if they find the kid to contact them.

At a that time when Vladimir Putin
is doing everything in his power

to get his hands on Ukraine,
we will explore a world

that we thought had disappeared,
a frightening taste of what could await

Ukraine in case of defeat.

[French spoken audio]

For one year, Europe has forbidden
all planes to land in Belarus.

So the first stop of our trip is Istanbul.

Why such a sanction?

President Alexander Lukashenko
has hijacked a plane before,

a case worthy of James Bond.

In May 2021, he sent a jet fighter
to intercept a Ryanair plane

passing over Belarus.

He hijacks it
and forces it to land in Minsk.

The official reason,
there's a bomb on board.

Once the plane landed,
instead of the police

searching for explosives
they arrest a passenger.

The journalist, Roman Protasevich,
an opponent of the regime

who had taken refuge abroad.

After his arrest,
as if by chance on national television,

he confesses to being
a dangerous agitator.

[Russian spoken audio]

Lukashenko acts outside
of international law,

we are warned,
even before arriving in Belarus.

We land in Minsk at the end of the day.

The post-Soviet capital
of 2 million inhabitants,

has all the qualities of a modern city.

In order to remain as secret as possible,
we book a guest room.

Since the Ryanair affair,
friendly greetings to Europeans are rare.

The owner is very surprised
to see French people.

Perfect, it's beautiful here.

Are there
a lot of tourists in Minsk these days?

Now, they are few
because it's very difficult to come here.

I will need your passport
to confirm your identity.

You need a picture?
-Yes.

No problem.

As in any police state,
the owner is obliged

to pass on our passports
so that they can be checked.

Do you have Internet here?
-Yes.

Is there limitation of...
-No.

Like in France,
we stay in separate rooms?

We are surprised, the internet is free
but it's impossible to know

if the network is monitored.

We are wary of it.

The next morning
we leave to explore Minsk.

The best way to evaluate
the purchasing power of a Belarusian

is to go shopping.

Even if the cost of living
is almost three times lower than in France

most people
avoid entering supermarkets like this one.

In the capital,
the average salary does not exceed €450.

and in the countryside
it's limited to €200.

The supermarket has been designed
for the upper-middle classes,

like those who work
in the country's growth sectors.

Farms, oil refineries and fertilizers.

There is a question on our minds.

As a foreign tourist,
can we walk in the streets of the capital

without being followed
by a plain clothed policeman,

as in the times of the former USSR?

We made an appointment with a local guide.

In order to pass unnoticed,
we will film everything

with our phones like real tourists.

I will be your guide.

So this is the oldest city
standing like old lady,

but looking like a young woman.

Of course, it looks so modern
as it was devastated to ashes

It was devastated and burned 17
times as you mentioned.

There are still
some Grand Orthodox churches

and especially vestiges
of its Soviet past.

As with this monument
erected to the glory of the comrades,

or this one dedicated
to the soldiers of the Red Army,

fallen on the battlefield
at the time of the sickle and hammer.

This is where we commemorate our guys

who participated in the Afghanistan war.

We came to Afghanistan
from the Soviet Union

back in 1979.

While walking
we look discreetly around us,

but in our two hour visit
there is no sign of surveillance

or forced order.

We only see one soldier
and one police car.

We tell the guide about our realisation,

but her answer quickly
brings us back to reality.

You will not see lots of people or lots
of soldiers but they are everywhere.

It's normal not to have them.

It's so peaceful in the city because
of the past years that they took people...

People no longer
make any trouble in the city center

because they will be in trouble.

We were imagining cops
will be everywhere but no.

You will not see them.

They are here.
-They are here.

For our guide,
it's a good marketing strategy.

Belarus has become the ideal place
to spend safe vacations.

For now, Belarus is really safe.

I mean, in terms of visiting,
if you are a foreigner,

if you are a tourist, you will come.

There are no restrictions.

There is nothing,
you can no go everywhere.

Everything looks very normal.

Not completely.

The actions of its president,
who constantly flouts human rights,

doesn't provide much reassurance.

I had two reservations in March
but people cancelled,

because of the restrictions to come.

If the political situation changes,
maybe the tourists will come back.

It will never change.

Her low register says a lot about
the terror that Alexander Lukashenko

has on the whole country.

So who is this man that some describe
as the last European dictator?

Alexander Lukashenko
was born in 1954,

in what was then
the Socialist Republic of Belarus.

He grew up in a peasant family,
but the man was ambitious.

After the army,
he quickly climbed the ladder.

The party entrusted him
with the management of a state farm,

and then the reins
of a building materials factory.

His life changes in 1989.

The USSR collapses
with the Berlin Wall but he takes flight.

He was elected deputy of the young
Belarusian Republic at 37 years old.

We meet a man who knew him closely.

Anatoly Libertgo
was close to the President

before becoming a pariah in his eyes.

However, he was part of the first circle
of the President's friends

in the early 90's.

[Russian spoken audio]

In 1991,
after the fall of the Socialist Republic,

Belarusians discovered what life
was like to be without restrictions,

a life of freedom
with abundant supermarkets.

The young deputy, Lukachenko
discovered his talent

for speaking in public.

[Russian spoken audio]

A strategy that paid off.

In 1994,
although he was not the most loved,

Alexander Lukashenko
became the first Belarusian president.

In Belarus, Lukashenko was elected
with 80 percent of the votes.

He quickly showed his true colors.

[Russian spoken audio]

President Lukashenko
decided everything by himself.

[Russian spoken audio]

In 1996, in order to extend
his mandate from five to seven years,

Alexander Lukashenko
tries to modify the Constitution.

Eighty-nine out of 110 deputies
are strongly opposed to it.

The sanction is severe.

He adjourns the parliament
and sends the rebels to detention.

Even his old friends,
like Anatoly Lebedko, who dared to rebel,

suffered the same fate as the others
in a prison that looked like this one.

[Russian spoken audio]

Anatoly Lebedko
drew the horror of his detention cell.

Here, the guards
who dressed entirely in black

and who tried
to break him day after day.

[Russian spoken audio]

The president's disgraced friend
spent 108 days in prison.

[Russian spoken audio]

Between 1994 and 2020,
Alexander Lukashenko was re-elected

six times with
over 80 percent of the votes.

None of these elections were validated
by the international community.

[Russian spoken audio]

For 30 years Lukashenko
has been consolidating his power

at the expense of his people,
whose freedoms are constantly decreasing.

The youth is the first to suffer.

In Minsk, at nightfall,
young people meet in the bars

that animate the streets
of the historical center.

We go to one of the most famous,
known for its live concerts.

Local bands play rock classics.

A place to party like in any other
country, according to the bouncer.

[Russian language spoken]

A gin and tonic please.

Everything seems normal
until we start the conversation.

Do you have a lighter?

Mistrust reigns.

I'm travelling, on holidays.

Here?
-Yes.

Holidays here?
-Yes.

You are traveling to have holidays here.
-Yes, sure.

Are you fucking out of your mind?

Sorry, what?

Are you fucking out of your mind?
You come here to Belarus.

The most fucking unsafe country
right now in the world,

Do you even know what's going on here?

No.
-Really?

You don't want to tell me?

No, I don't know you.

I don't know if you're a fucking agent
or something like that.

What?
-Agent.

I could go to jail right now
for saying a couple of words,

like "I don't agree with that."

You go to jail right away for 40 days.

That's the reason why
you don't trust anyone these days.

Okay, no problem.
-No, politics talk, just chilling.

These young Belarusians
belong for the most part,

to the educated middle class,

which has emerged
in recent years in the country.

They are the ones
who are particularly targeted

by the government.

What are you doing here?

They hate us.

They try to raise taxes for us so we look
like we're the enemy of government.

We're thinking too much,
we're much too clever.

When you meet people that you don't know,
for example, in the work and stuff,

are you afraid of talking about that?
-Absolutely.

We cannot talk
about politics in the street.

Maybe you can but please don't try it.

Twenty percent of people
could either be cops or informers.

I think this government is planning
to make this country look like North Korea

with the situation.

More than 80 percent
of Belarusians are educated

Europeans are free people.

That's the reason
why you are comfortable with us.

Let's drink like never before
like it's the last time in our lives.

Have the time to meet some people.

Belarus is the only country
of the former USSR

to have kept the name KGB
to refer to its secret police,

and it has lost nothing
of its formidable efficiency.

The KGB arrests and imprisons
without needing any justification.

We are expected one hour
from the capital in one of the big cities

located in the west of the country.

In order not to attract attention,
the person we are going to meet

has formally forbidden us
to speak French and English on the street.

On the 25th of June 2020,
Daria’s husband was arrested by the KGB.

[Russian language spoken]

Igor, her husband, a freelance journalist,
ran a news channel on the Internet.

His articles were not
openly critical of the government.

After a sham trial
he was sentenced to 15 years in prison

for disturbing the peace.

[Russian language spoken]

After her husband's arrest, Daria
resigned from her job as a civil servant.

It was impossible
for her to continue working for the state

that separated her three year old daughter
from her father.

[Russian language spoken]

Whenever she can, on social networks,

Daria criticizes the state,
but she tries never to cross the line.

[Russian language spoken]

As a dissident,
Daria is entitled to special treatment.

[Russian language spoken]

So Daria asks us to be quiet.

Only our translator is allowed
to ask questions in Russian.

[Russian language spoken]

Daria goes to visit
her husband twice a week,

but the couple
is forbidden to touch each other.

[Russian language spoken]

Despite the risks,
Daria agreed to speak openly.

She doesn't want to hide anymore.

[Russian language spoken]

We won't go with her to prison,
the risk of being arrested is too high.

For the past few years,
people like Daria have dared to speak out

and challenge
the absolute power of their president

and sometimes it ends in a bloodbath.

Today in Belarus,
it's forbidden to dress in red and white.

The colours
of the former flag of the country

became the rallying sign of opponents.

In the summer of 2020,
during the last presidential election,

Alexander Lukashenko
was faced with a problem, this lady here.

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya entered the
presidential race the day her husband,

a famous opponent, was imprisoned.

The English teacher knew how to wake up
the people who didn't dare to rebel.

She made them realize
that the infinite power

of Alexander Lukashenko
was not indestructible.

[Russian language spoken]

Unsurprisingly, Alexander Lukashenko
won votes that would make anyone nostalgic

of the Soviet era envious,
80 percent of the votes.

Immediately, the authoritarian president

warns those
who wish to contest this result.

[Russian language spoken]

Except that this time
his people do not conform

and instead rebel.

Hundreds of thousands of people
take to the streets with the slogan.

[Russian language spoken]

As promised, his response is fatal.

The president gives
the order to shoot the crowd.

A dozen deaths, hundreds of injuries,
tens of thousands of arrests

and he was not finished there.

During the following weeks,
the KGB is peeled to social networks.

No demonstrator can escape them.

A video attracts their attention.

It goes viral on the Belarusian web.

[Russian language spoken]

This little four year old boy,
also in red and white,

has become one
of the symbols of resistance.

As such, the KGB started to pursue him.

The story of this pursuit
is hardly believable.

For a year and a half,
Viktor and his mother

have been hiding in Lithuania.

[Russian language spoken]

The video trended,
they put in Forbes and everywhere.

Some people called me
from America and said are you crazy?

You need to run away immediately.

I said, come on he's just a kid.

Nobody expects
such big pressure on these things.

The Belarusian KGB knows
that martyrs and symbols

do much more harm
than the best of speakers.

To find Viktor, the secret police
launches a titanic program,

sifting through all the schools
of the capital and its suburbs.

They sent every kindergarten
the video and asked directors

if they find
this kid just to call them.

The director called me and said,
oh, come to our kindergarten.

I said, oh, it's still warm,
we are outside of the city.

I will come soon.

My friend understood because
she saw it and she recognized him.

She called me and she said,
don't go to kindergarten.

Irina fled, leaving everything behind.

She had to abandon her business,
her family and particularly her husband,

a demonstrator.

He was imprisoned a few days
before the video of his son.

Today he has been in prison
for a year and a half

for simply wanting
to express his discontent.

The whole of Europe
condemns this savage repression.

President Lukashenko is weakened,
but he still receives strong support,

that of their Russian big brother.

According to Jean de Gliniasty,
former diplomat specialist

in eastern countries,
between the two men,

their relationship
is one of love and hate.

Vladimir Putin would like to replace him,
but he has no choice but to support him.

[French and Russian spoken audio]

The unlimited violence
used to repress demonstrations

and the hijacking of the Ryanair plane

have led Europe
to tighten the sanctions against Belarus.

They are far
from destabilizing the country.

Jean de Gliniasty explains
that with Alexander Lukashenko,

it's an eye for an eye
and a tooth for a tooth.

[Russian spoken audio]

The Belarusian authorities
charter several planes to Iraq.

They come back loaded
with thousands of migrants

to whom they promised
fast access to Europe.

Only...

Illegal border crossing is forbidden,
you will face criminal charges.

It's too late,
the trap has closed.

The Belarusian policemen
prevent the migrants from turning back

and force them
to move forward with truncheons.

Blocked in a no man's land,
with temperatures approaching minus 30,

some die of cold.

A humanitarian crisis breaks out.

Alexander Lukashenko
accuses Europeans of mistreatment.

[Russian spoken audio]

While the migrant crisis is in full swing,

Vladimir Putin
and the Belarusian president

have an ice hockey match.

The master of the Kremlin is playing
in the same team as Alexander Lukashenko.

This is a very clear message
addressed to the whole world.

Sanctioning Belarus is to attack Russia.

[Russian spoken audio]

In exchange for the support,

the Belarusian president
lets Vladimir Putin

install his army
along the border with Ukraine.

Officially, it's only a question
of joint military maneuvers

between the two countries.

The international community
is worried and there is reason to be.

Satellite images show
that the Russian army

occupies no less than
five military fields and four air bases.

They are also installing
high tech equipment,

as shown in these images
from the Russian Ministry of Defence

with its impressive
anti-aircraft batteries in place.

The morning of
February 24th, we're in Minsk,

and we discover at the same time
as the rest of the world,

the announcement of war.

[Russian spoken audio]

Russian troops stationed
in Belarus are invading Ukraine.

We start to feel a little tense.

France strongly condemns the attack,

and we're surely the last French tourists
in the country now.

We fear that the KGB
will start to dig into our backgrounds

and discover that we are journalists.

Today, we have a meeting with an opponent,

but when we call her,
bad news, she refuses to meet us.

[French spoken audio]

The opponent advised us
to change our accommodation quickly.

She fears for our safety.

A few hours later,

we arrived in a new guest house
at the other end of the city.

However, we don't feel calm.

We do a quick inspection just to make sure
ears are not hidden in the walls.

We look around the street.

It seems we were not followed,

but it's impossible to be sure.

Our biggest fear
is to be arrested for espionage.

As we feared,
our trip in Belarus will end badly.

Vladimir Putin did not choose to invade
Ukraine on February the 24th by chance.

It marks the holiday
of the defender of the Fatherland.

This holiday,
which dates back to the former USSR,

is celebrated
throughout Belarus with parades

and reenactments of battles like this one.

We are shocked that
the festivities have not been cancelled,

while on the other side of the border,
men are killing each other.

Here, extras reenact war.

[Russian spoken audio]

Among the spectators, there are many
nostalgic for the father of peoples

and the lost splendor of the Soviet Union.

So, of course, Putin supporters
are present in large numbers,

and for them,
this war with Ukraine is well justified.

[Russian spoken audio]

Many Belarusians
watch only Russian TV channels

and this is evident from the speech
of this extra, a carbon copy of Putin.

[Russian spoken audio]

In Belarus,
not everyone is pro-Russian nor pro-war.

Quite the contrary.

This is what this taxi driver
explains to us as we film discreetly.

[Russian spoken audio]

The man would never have spoken openly.

The dome of terror that covers
the country is having its effect.

The fear of prison
silences part of the population.

The few brave ones who dare,

are quickly dealt with by plain
clothes policemen, as in this video.

Fleeing the country is the only way
to criticise the government

without risking
ending up in a prison cell.

Political opposition go into exile
in the neighboring country of Lithuania.

Its capital, Vilnius,
is only 170 kilometers from Minsk.

Today, it hosts a large part
of anti-Lukashenko demonstrators,

starting with Svetlana Tikhanovskaya,
who took refuge here a year ago.

The English teacher, who had the courage
to confront the tyrant president

during the presidential elections of 2020.

Not surprisingly,
she lost because of rigged elections.

Today, she demands the presidency.

Threatened with death, she went
into exile here with a close bodyguard.

For her, the danger is real.

So before meeting Svetlana Tikhanovskaya,
we must show our credentials.

After the search, we are confined
in a room or rather in this safety lock.

Yes, this is the border
between the open part of our office,

closed part and public part.
-Okay, so we don't go there?

Yes.

Anna Gasolina, the press officer
is not kidding, threats are daily.

Yesterday, I received anonymous letter,
maybe from KGB agent

with threat to decapitate me.

This is the first time you receive that?

No, I have received lot.

She has reason to take it very seriously.

Last summer, Vitaly Shishov,
another opponent,

was found hanged in Kiev.

The Ukrainian police
suspect a murder disguised as suicide.

His colleagues accused the Belarusian KGB.

The president in exile
finally shows herself.

Like a head of state,
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya,

has many meetings with European diplomats.

Today, she met with the ambassadors
of the Czech Republic and Spain.

Fifteen, 20 minutes.

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya assures us
that as soon as she recovers

the presidential mandate,
which is rightfully hers,

she will quickly cut ties
with Vladimir Putin.

Lukashenko dragged Belarus
into this war against our brother Ukraine.

We see that he is losing our independency.

From election 2020,
only thanks to Russian support

and now Lukashenko
is paying for the support

by lending our land
to the Russian military forces.

Lukashenko was always close with Putin,
and now he is the only ally

because he knows that he doesn't
have support from Belarusian people.

So from Vilnius, Svetlana
is trying to organise the resistance.

We are trying to persuade
the Belarusian soldiers

not to participate in this war.

Not to fulfill the criminal orders
of Lukashenko.

They have a possibility
to stop railway transportation

of military equipment or food
for Russian military troops.

A lot of people on the ground
take pictures of tanks

moving through our country and give
this information to Ukrainian side.

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya
invites us to follow her.

She is expected at the other end
of the city, at the Russian embassy.

Finally in front of the embassy,

she takes part in a meeting
which denounces the war in Ukraine.

Her bodyguards are not reassured,

but for her it's an important event
against Vladimir Putin.

This attack by Kremlin on Ukraine
is an attack on liberty,

and it's our duty to stand with Ukraine
in the face of such evil.

All of us, who believe in freedom,
today we are all Ukrainians.

[Russian spoken audio]

The battle will be long
for the exiled head of state.

Lukashenko is not ready
to let go of the reins of the country.

The autocrat
never seems to run out of ideas.

He's going to put
a new referendum to the vote

that will allow him
to change the Constitution

in order to have even more power.

He also added a little bonus
for his friend Vladimir Putin,

the authorization to deploy
nuclear missiles on Belarusian soil.

We return to Minsk.

The day of the referendum,

we filmed the small demonstrations
that tried to block some polling stations.

[Russian spoken audio]

State television
threatens the demonstrators

and broadcasts the arrests.

The police arrested
over 300 people, including myself.

Fortunately, I had time to warn Emily

so that she could hide
in another guest room

and save the footage
that we had shot for a week.

The police officers realised
very quickly that I'm a journalist.

They erased my footage from the day,

and after eight hours
of distressing custody,

I am allowed to leave.

Now we have no choice,
we leave Belarus by bus.

Our last moments of stress.

Crossing the Lithuanian border.

[French spoken audio]

The last 20 minutes seem never ending.

We managed to cross the last obstacle.

[French spoken audio]

After the beginning of the war,
the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs

encouraged French people
to leave Belarus immediately.

Today, there are less than
1,000 of them in the country.