Around 100,000 protesters marched through central Minsk on Sunday, despite rain and a heavy police presence, to show their opposition to embattled Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko.

Activists had called for demonstrators across the country to come out for what they called a "people's inauguration" of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Lukashenko's main opponent who is now living in exile. Many at the event wore the red-and-white opposition colors and chanted "impostor" and "Sveta is our president."
Police locked down a number of Minsk metro stations and deployed water cannons and armored vehicles on side streets ahead of the march. Authorities also switched off mobile internet, and Lukashenko's residence, the Palace of Independence, was heavily guarded by soldiers.