Gorbachev Identifies Lukashenko's Mistake

The former president of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev, believes that the mistake of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is that he reached out to the workers for support too late, reports kp.ru.

“Lukashenko appealed to the employees of production enterprises for help, but it seems it was too late,” he stated during an interview, adding that towards the end of the USSR he too had appealed to the workers.

“There was no necessary support. I can’t blame the workers,” he admitted.

According to the former leader, the events occurring in Belarus are the result of external influences.

In the interview, Gorbachev also spoke about the collapse of the USSR, noting that he left the presidency of the Soviet Union to “avoid fragmentation and civil war.”

Protests have been ongoing in Belarus since the presidential elections on August 9, where participants express their dissatisfaction with the election results, which declared the incumbent president Alexander Lukashenko the winner with 80 percent of the vote, while opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya garnered only 10.12 percent.