MINSK, Belarus – Of all the former nations of the Soviet Union, Belarus has changed the least since the collapse of communism. Its economy remains almost entirely in state hands, the government shows zero tolerance for dissent and the main domestic spy agency is still called KGB.
President Alexander Lukashenko has offered a degree of economic stability during 17 years in power, however, thanks to generous subsidies from his main sponsor, Russia.
But a spiraling currency crisis, an increasingly severe crackdown on the opposition, and a mysterious subway bombing last week have spawned a sense of rising panic and disorder in this nation of 10 million, often labeled the last dictatorship in Europe.
A long-standing social contract that asked Belarusians to give up political freedoms in exchange for safety and a reliable if modest standard of living now appears to be fraying.
The April 11 explosion in the capital’s busiest subway station during an evening rush hour killed 13 and wounded more than 200 — the first deadly bombing in a nation where the opposition has been largely peaceful and militant groups have been unheard of.
Authorities quickly arrested a man accused of placing the bomb and four suspected accomplices, but haven’t said who ordered
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