Quite an eye opening account of the state of events in Belarus, thank you for sharing. In general, if a single person is consolidating power, then that is unhealthy because he would likely greatly weaken accountability, letting him and his cronies, for example, take a lot of money for themselves without being challenged. So the situation sounds worrisome; indeed the survey of residents shows that they also don't want Lukashenka to change the constitution, but what can the average person do other than massive protests? And would an opposition leader rise to demand accountability and responsibility from Lukashenka, without having a sponsored "accident?"

Consolidation of power, I guess, does have advantages if the leader means well and decides he needs to do something that may be unpopular now for the future good of the country, but my impression is that Lukashenka might not have that in mind... What kinds of things is he advocating for? Hopefully something more than say "kick out dangerous immigrants!", but I guess I wouldn't be surprised if his overall platform is shallow.

Freedom is always something to celebrate, and hopefully this part of their culture is not taken away in the future. I look forward to your future reports, and hope that at least the people of Belarus do not face oppression and tyranny.