societal interests subservient to those of Russia. (7) The Government of Belarus, led by Alyaksandr Lukashenka, continues to reduce the independence of Belarus through integration into a so-called Union State that is under the control of Russia. (8) On August 9, 2020, the Government of Belarus conducted a presidential election that was fraudulent and did not meet international standards. There were serious irregularities with ballot counting and the reporting of election results. The Government of Belarus also put in place restrictive measures that impeded the work of local independent observers and did not provide sufficient notice to the OSCE to allow for the OSCE to monitor the elections, as is customary. (9) After the August 9, 2020, presidential election, the Government of Belarus responded to the peaceful opposition protests, which are the largest in Belarus history, with a violent crackdown, including, according to the United Nations Special Rapporteur, the detention of more than 10,000 peaceful protestors as of September 18, 2020. (10) Thousands of employees at Belarusian state-owned enterprises, who have been seen as Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s traditional base during his 26-year rule, went on strike across the country to protest Lukashenka’s illegitimate election and the subsequent crackdowns, including at some of Belarus’s largest factories such as the BelAZ truck plant, the Minsk Tractor Works, and the Minsk Automobile Plant. (11) Women have served as the leading force in demonstrations across the country, protesting the police brutality and mass detentions by wearing white, carrying flowers, forming solidarity chains , and unmasking undercover police trying to arrest demonstrators. (12) After the August 9, 2020, presidential election, the Government of Belarus has sought to stop the work of the Coordination Council, which was formed by the leading opposition presidential candidate, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, to facilitate a peaceful transition of power by subjecting the Council’s senior members to