No longer cowed, Belarus has message for once-mighty dictator: 'Go away!'

The security services have not yet broken ranks but have, at least for the moment, mostly retreated from the streets

In an age of ascendant strongman leaders, President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko of Belarus is suddenly looking surprisingly weak.

As protests against his rule have grown and intensified over the last week, the man known as “Europe’s last dictator” turned in desperation on Monday to the once reliably loyal workers at a tractor factory. But instead of being showered with their support, he was shouted down with chants of “Go away! Go away!”

Until he claimed a landslide victory on Aug. 9 in a fraud-tainted election, few leaders appeared stronger and more secure than Mr. Lukashenko, a former state farm director