On Friday, an explosion at an outdoor concert in the capital Minsk injured at least 50 people. So far authorities are at a loss as to who's behind it, the local police say it could be an act of hooliganism.
Of course hooligans blowing up a few dozen people is something that just doesn't happen in the tightly controlled former Soviet state that Condi Rice once called "Europe's last dictatorship". Belarus is run by Alexander Lukashenko, an authoritarian leader who has kept many of the trappings of Soviet power, including his own version of the KGB. The United States and European Union have repeatedly criticized Lukashenko for his heavy-handed and anti-democratic rule.
All of which makes the bombing seem so out of place for Belarus. An attack by a group opposing Lukashenko seems unlikely since he keeps such tight rule over the country. The country is not involved in any heated disputes with its neighbors, dealing mostly with Russia, with whom Belarus has a close relationship. One thought is that the blast could have been the work of a faction within the government looking to undermine Lukashenko's rule.
Or they just have some really bad hooligans in Minsk.
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