The Belarusian partisan movement is an ongoing campaign of resistance against the

authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic votin ...

regime of Alexander Lukashenko. It began in response to the violent suppression of the

2020–2021 Belarusian protests The 2020–2021 Belarusian protests were a series of mass political demonstrations and protests against the Belarusian government and President Alexander Lukashenko. The largest anti-government protests in the history of Belarus, the demonst ...

. The partisans aim to depose Lukashenko's government and expel

Russian troops The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска �ВSukhoputnyye voyska V}), also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces ...

from Belarus.

History

2021

The Belarusian partisan movement emerged after the suppression of the 2020–2021 Belarusian protests. In January, a Belarusian was arrested after an arson attack against a

T-72 The T-72 is a family of Soviet/Russian main battle tanks that entered production in 1969. The T-72 was a development of the T-64, which was troubled by high costs and its reliance on immature developmental technology. About 25,000 T-72 tanks ha ...

tank at in

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

. The

Cyber Partisans Cyber Partisans (Belarusian: ''кіберпартызаны'', Russian: ''киберпартизаны'') is a Belarusian decentralized anonymous activist/hacktivist collective emerged in September 2020, known for its various cyber attacks agai ...

conducted a campaign of

cyberattack A cyberattack is any offensive maneuver that targets computer information systems, computer networks, infrastructures, or personal computer devices. An attacker is a person or process that attempts to access data, functions, or other restricted ...

s on the regime's internet infrastructure in mid-2021, including the release of personal information of thousands of regime officials, police, military, and regime propagandists. On September 25, a partisan cell under Busly liaciać attacked an OMON base in

Uručča Uručča, (also referred to as Uruchcha or Uruch'ye) ( be, Уручча, russian: Уручье, Uruch'ye; translation into English: ''Brookside'') is a microdistrict in the north-eastern part of Minsk. It was founded on the place of former Ur ...

with an incendiary mixture dropped from a drone, and in December, another cell attacked a training base of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in . Throughout the year, partisans participated in blocking

railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

, destroying

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly t ...

, damaging

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...

used by the regime, and actions against regime officials.

2022

Partisan activity increased in the buildup to the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

. In mid-January, the Cyber Partisans launched a cyberattack on infrastructure of

Belarusian Railways Belarusian Railway (BCh) ( be, Беларуская чыгунка () / ''Biełaruskaja čyhunka'', russian: Белорусская железная дорога) is the national state-owned railway company of Belarus. It operates all of the rail ...

, severely delaying the movement of Russian transport in Belarus; they stated they would decrypt the systems upon the release of 50 prisoners and Russian troops being removed from Belarus. During the Battle of Kyiv,

BYPOL The Association of Security Forces of Belarus ( be, Аб'яднанне сілавікоў Беларусі, Abjadnannie siłavikow Biełarusi), also known as BYPOL, is a Belarusian organization that was created by former employees of law enforce ...

and Belarusian partisans published information on how to disable railway signalling boxes, which severely disrupted the Russian logistic network. In March near

Babrujsk Babruysk, Babrujsk or Bobruisk ( be, Бабруйск , Łacinka: , rus, Бобруйск, Bobrujsk, bɐˈbruɪ̯s̪k, yi, באָברויסק ) is a city in the Mogilev Region of eastern Belarus on the Berezina River. , its population was 209 ...

, regime security services fired on partisans who set fire railway signals; and by late April there were at least 11 partisans detained. After the formation of the

Kastuś Kalinoŭski Regiment The Kastuś Kalinoŭski Regiment be, Полк імя Кастуся Каліноўскага, translit=Połk imia Kastusia Kalinoŭskaha (also known as simply Połk Kalinoŭskaha or the Kalinoŭski Regiment, formerly the Kastuś Kalinoŭski Bat ...

, and their assurances that they will liberate Belarus, representatives of

stated that they would welcome a national liberation of Belarus if circumstances allow it.

2023

On the 26th of February, 2023, a Beriev A-50 aircraft of the

Russian Air Force " Air March" , mascot = , anniversaries = 12 August , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = , decorations = , bat ...

at Mačuliščy air base was damaged and two explosions were heard. BYPOL claimed that Belarusian partisans were responsible for the disabling of the aircraft.

Reactions

The Lukashenko regime has cracked down harshly on partisans. Belarusian courts, which are under regime control, have placed terror charges on partisans, a charge which carries the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

in Belarus.

References

2020 in Belarus 2020–2021 Belarusian protests 2021 in Belarus 2022 in Belarus Belarusian opposition Rebellions in Belarus Resistance during the Russian invasion of Ukraine Resistance movements Belarus in the Russo-Ukrainian War {{DEFAULTSORT:Belarusian partisan movement (2020-present)