Emotionality of Dissent and Continuity of the (Un)Changed in Belarus: Ethnography of Political Protests in Minsk, 2015-2017

The aim of my research is to analyze the work of emotions in political protests by conducting an ethnographic study in Belarus. My research is focused on street actions occurred in Minsk (Belarus) in 2015-17. Because of the apparent stability of 23-year presidency of Lukashenka’s and seemingly unsuccessful and rather small protests, Belarus is rarely chosen as a site of researching contentious politics. However, this specific political context creates a number of theoretically interesting challenges, such as a possibility to look beyond open public protests, a necessity to account for periods of abyss, and a chance to reflect on emotional work associated with participation in high-risk protests (such as, managing fear, coping with failures, and sustaining hope). This doctoral project is an interdisciplinary endeavor that draws on sociology and anthropology of emotions, research on civil resistance and social movements, and analysis of Eastern European political context.