The current front-runner in the Belarusian presidential race is Svetlana Tikhanovskaya. If she wins this Sunday’s election, it will mark a revolution in Belarusian politics.

Belarus declared independence nearly 30 years ago when the Soviet Union collapsed. Yet, its political system has been so corrupt for so long, it is still called “Europe’s last dictatorship.” That system has been kind to Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, who has been in power for the last 26 years.

In contrast, Tikhanovskaya has no prior political experience. Before registering to run on July 14, she was a stay-at-home mom to her two children, ages 4 and 10. Previously, she worked as an English interpreter and teacher.

What prompted Tikhanovskaya to run waslovefor her husband, Sergei Tikhanovsky, a famous opposition YouTube blogger. He was running for the presidency until he was imprisoned in May for organizing pro-democracy protests. Stepping into his candidate shoes, his wife has risen to the occasion.

On July 30, approximately 60,000 people gathered at a political rally in Minsk in support of her. Turnouts of this size at opposition rallies are practically unheard of in Belarus. Her speechstressed that she is “not a politician” and does not “need power” but fiercely proclaimed that she is “tired of being silent” and “tired of being afraid.” These words seemed to resonate strongly with her supporters.

Two days later,thousands turned outfor rallies in three Belarusian towns: Hrodno, Vaukavysk, and Slonim. Tikhanovskaya appeared at all three rallies, again garnering a tremendous response to her hopeful, uniting language.

In normal circumstances, Tikhanovskaya’s chances against the firmly entrenched Lukashenko would be slim, at best. However, widespread discontent about Belarus’s economic woes and Lukashenko’s poor handling of the coronavirus pandemic could give her the upper hand.

Opposing Lukashenko is anything but easy. On Aug. 4, Belarusian authorities canceled campaign ralliesfor Tikhanovskaya, supposedly because “repair work needed to be carried out” at the rally locations. And over the past few months, Belarusian authorities have arrested, banned, or imprisoned several opposition leaders, namely Tikhanovsky, Viktor Babariko, Mikola Statkevich, and Valery Tsepkalo, as well as journalists, bloggers, peaceful protesters, and other critics of the governmentin 17 Belarusian cities. However, rather than cow the opposition, this crackdown has sparkednationwideprotests.

As if the arrests and rally shutdowns weren’t producing enough political turmoil in Belarus, it appears that Russia decided to pour fuel on the flames. On July 29, Belarusian authoritiesarrested 33 mercenariesemployed by Wagner, a Russian private military company that provides manpower forcombat and destabilization operationsworldwide.

More than 200 Russian mercenaries were sent in to “destabilize” Belarus ahead of the election, according to Belarusian officials. Belarus has now strengthened its border security and is searching for the remaining 170 mercenaries.

Russia, of course, iscallingfor the detainees to be released, insisting that they are innocent Russian travelers “on their way to see Hagia Sophia.” This claim is reminiscent of what occurred in March 2018, when Russian agents assigned to poison former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yuliaclaimedthey were only in Salisbury, England, to go sightseeing at the local cathedral. Even Lukashenkothinksthe Russian mercenaries’ claim about being en route to Istanbul is a lie.

As far as the United States is concerned, the most pressing issue now is that Sunday’s elections be free and fair. That would certainly give Tikhanovskaya a fighting chance. If Lukashenko wins, he will most likely continue running Europe’s last dictatorship. If Tikhanovskaya prevails, then Belarus could have a much brighter future.