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19th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Mobile
A hugging couple at the centre of Minsk during the protest against the Lukashenko dictatorship.

It was August 2020 in Minsk, a week since the president selections in Belarus. It was the day of the largest “March of freedom” for the whole Belarusian history - the mass action against the violence, nonsense and falsified selections results, that were taking place here in Belarus during the last 26 years of dictatorship. Sitting on the border in front of the government house, surrounded by the thousands of people, exhausted but full of pride and determination, I saw a hugging couple. It was like a peculiar symbol of my feelings synergy in that moment. It was like a sign of the better time.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 08.2020
Date Uploaded: 09.2021
Photo Location: Minsk, Belarus
Camera: iPhone XR
Copyright: © Avdeeva Ksenia