0:00:03 > 0:00:07What do all these very average-looking men have in common?
0:00:07 > 0:00:10That's right, they are all dictators.
0:00:10 > 0:00:14And that means they love power, they hate journalists like me,
0:00:14 > 0:00:17and they are, quite frankly, ridiculous.
0:00:17 > 0:00:22I'm on a journey to three former Soviet Union countries to find out
0:00:22 > 0:00:25what makes some of the world's most powerful tyrants tick.
0:00:25 > 0:00:26I'm going to see the good...
0:00:26 > 0:00:29the bad...and the completely mental
0:00:29 > 0:00:32about living under a dictatorship.
0:00:32 > 0:00:39This programme contains some strong language
0:00:44 > 0:00:46This time, Belarus.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50The country is next door to Poland, slap bang between the EU and Russia.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59It's been ruled since 1994 by President Alexander Lukashenko.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04So, what does it take to be a Belarussian dictator?
0:01:04 > 0:01:07Well, you've got to look the part. And, of course,
0:01:07 > 0:01:10that means a military uniform even if, like Luka,
0:01:10 > 0:01:13you've only ever done National Service.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17If you're ever doing any sport, you'll need a huge, adoring audience.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27And showing that your goons aren't scared of hurting people is essential.
0:01:27 > 0:01:31In fact, Luka's managed to pass himself off as such an alpha male
0:01:31 > 0:01:34he can even get away with watching this.
0:01:34 > 0:01:36So, I'm on my way to Belarus.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39I want to give you a little taste of what's to come,
0:01:39 > 0:01:42and I'm going to do that by showing you a video.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45It features this man, who is the German Foreign Minister, happens to be gay...
0:01:48 > 0:01:50..and the guy who runs Belarus.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57And there you have it.
0:01:57 > 0:01:59The key rule of dictatorship, Belarussian style.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01Don't be gay.
0:02:01 > 0:02:02It's going to be a fun trip.
0:02:04 > 0:02:05Getting into these countries is hard,
0:02:05 > 0:02:08so we told authorities we were making a travel programme,
0:02:08 > 0:02:11and none of the interviewees would know it was actually a series
0:02:11 > 0:02:14about dictatorships. For their safety and mine.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17So, I'm on the way to Alexandria,
0:02:17 > 0:02:20which is the actual birthplace of Lukashenko himself.
0:02:20 > 0:02:22And although we have filming permissions in Belarus,
0:02:22 > 0:02:25things get a bit more precarious here due to the fact that this is
0:02:25 > 0:02:28the place he was born. So, not entirely sure how things are going to work out,
0:02:28 > 0:02:31or even if we'll be able to film at all.
0:02:31 > 0:02:33'When we got to Alexandria,
0:02:33 > 0:02:36'we were allowed to continue as long as we had someone official with us.'
0:02:37 > 0:02:38Hi, I'm Benjamin.
0:02:40 > 0:02:46Under Larisa's watchful eye, we headed for the big man's home village.
0:02:46 > 0:02:48It isn't actually the village he was born in,
0:02:48 > 0:02:50this is the village he was raised in.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53The village he was born in is over a bridge somewhere but we're not allowed
0:02:53 > 0:02:56to go there because it doesn't look quite as nice as this one, so this
0:02:56 > 0:02:58is the place they want to show us.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00'First stop, Lukashenko's old school.'
0:03:19 > 0:03:21'Ah, so sweet.
0:03:21 > 0:03:22'A nice family lad.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25'Nothing to suggest he likes locking up his opponents.'
0:03:25 > 0:03:29Are people very proud who live here, because this is the home of Lukashenko?
0:03:51 > 0:03:54But apparently there is a short cut to becoming more like him.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01Lukashenko's often talked about a magic spring in the woods.
0:04:02 > 0:04:06I read somewhere that he believes that the fact that he drank from
0:04:06 > 0:04:09this spring is the reason that he then became the man he is today,
0:04:09 > 0:04:11and even President.
0:04:11 > 0:04:12Is that true?
0:04:23 > 0:04:28So, here's some locals actually drinking some of the sacred water right now.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32'Supposedly people come from across the country just to drink
0:04:32 > 0:04:34'from the spring that Lukashenko drank from.'
0:04:34 > 0:04:36I'm just wondering why you drink this water.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44'But to really tap into the essence of tough guy Lukashenko,
0:04:44 > 0:04:48'to get the full benefit of the spring of eternal manliness,
0:04:48 > 0:04:50'I've heard you have to bathe in it.'
0:04:51 > 0:04:53It looks like the pit of death.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58Oh, my goodness gracious me.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00It's actually minus two degrees Celsius.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03Why am I doing this? Why am I doing this?
0:05:03 > 0:05:06All right, just remind yourself
0:05:06 > 0:05:10Belarussian men do it, they are big and strong,
0:05:10 > 0:05:13I want to be big and strong, too.
0:05:13 > 0:05:14Oh...
0:05:14 > 0:05:17Right, sometimes people exaggerate for television.
0:05:17 > 0:05:18This is not one of those times.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21This is absolutely fucking freezing.
0:05:21 > 0:05:23All right, here we go.
0:05:23 > 0:05:24HE PANTS
0:05:32 > 0:05:33I can feel it.
0:05:34 > 0:05:35I can feel the energy...
0:05:35 > 0:05:38Oh, no, that's hypothermia.
0:05:38 > 0:05:39That's what that is!
0:05:39 > 0:05:41'I felt like a changed man.'
0:05:41 > 0:05:43Oh, God.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46Look at my nipples. They're about four inches long.
0:05:48 > 0:05:53There we go, been in the spring, got the big man's quote on,
0:05:53 > 0:05:56this is it. Never felt like more of a man in my life.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04I headed to the home of Lukashenko's power,
0:06:04 > 0:06:06Belarus's capital city, Minsk.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11Doesn't feel like Europe's last dictatorship, I'll be honest.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15There's loads of really fancy cafes, fancy perfume shops.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18If I wasn't freezing my tits off right now I could well and truly be
0:06:18 > 0:06:20in Italy or something.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24Although it's a beautiful city, Brits hardly ever come here.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27Most of us only hear about Belarus once a year.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30# Solayoh, Solayoh
0:06:30 > 0:06:33# Where the sun is always shining on ya! #
0:06:33 > 0:06:36Hello, Europe! Minsk calling.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39# Let's come together, so here is my hand... #
0:06:39 > 0:06:41In the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest,
0:06:41 > 0:06:46Anastacia Vinakova represented Belarus with this beauty.
0:06:46 > 0:06:50# I love Belarus! Got it deep inside
0:06:50 > 0:06:53# I love Belarus! Feel it in my mind... #
0:06:53 > 0:06:55And guess what? I get to meet her.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59Anything I've ever heard of Belarus, it always seems to be, like...
0:06:59 > 0:07:02a kind of scary place, a place that no-one ever goes to.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05Very Russian, very Soviet.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25# I love Belarus! Got it deep inside
0:07:25 > 0:07:29# I love Belarus! Feel it in my mind... #
0:07:29 > 0:07:33I mean, some people in the West would think that you didn't have as
0:07:33 > 0:07:35much freedom here, you didn't have as much free speech.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37Is that true?
0:07:43 > 0:07:45- Do you think most people like the system, here?- Yes.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52It's true that there isn't much protesting here,
0:07:52 > 0:07:53but maybe that's not surprising
0:07:53 > 0:07:56because of what can happen if you do step out of line.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59The secret police are famous for beating up protesters,
0:07:59 > 0:08:02harassing journalists, and locking up opposition politicians.
0:08:06 > 0:08:10This building behind me here is the secret service of Belarus.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13Have to be a bit careful about filming here because we're not really meant to.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16It's called the KGB, which, as you probably know,
0:08:16 > 0:08:18was the name of the Soviet Union secret service,
0:08:18 > 0:08:22which was infamous for being just ruthless in its search for information.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25Killed people, basically snooped on the entire population.
0:08:25 > 0:08:30No other former Soviet Union country still uses the name KGB
0:08:30 > 0:08:32apart from Belarus.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37I don't want to look at it because we'll get in trouble.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41Despite his firm grip on power,
0:08:41 > 0:08:43Lukashenko still doesn't take any chances.
0:08:45 > 0:08:46He rigs his elections,
0:08:46 > 0:08:49and doesn't really seem to care if the world knows about it.
0:09:01 > 0:09:02Since taking power,
0:09:02 > 0:09:06Lukashenko has rewritten the constitution so that he's pretty much free to
0:09:06 > 0:09:08make any law he wants.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12And he can more or less live out any fantasy he likes.
0:09:12 > 0:09:14Ice hockey is his favourite sport,
0:09:14 > 0:09:18and the Belarussian media regularly reports on his exploits on the ice.
0:09:18 > 0:09:23He likes getting quality players together so he can pretend to be one of them.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26And there he is, wearing the number 1 jersey.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28You can probably guess what team usually wins.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34Lukashenko's ploughed hundreds of millions of dollars into building
0:09:34 > 0:09:36ice-hockey stadia around the country.
0:09:36 > 0:09:38The biggest, right here in Minsk.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41Wow!
0:09:41 > 0:09:44This is most definitely the noisiest sport I have been to
0:09:44 > 0:09:45for a long time.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48Unnecessarily loud!
0:09:48 > 0:09:50If there's one thing I knew about Luka,
0:09:50 > 0:09:52it's that he doesn't like gay people.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55So I wondered what it was like to be gay in Belarus.
0:09:55 > 0:10:00'I'd met up with Oleg Rascov, a TV journalist who covers LGBT rights.'
0:10:15 > 0:10:18'The station Oleg works for is banned in Belarus,
0:10:18 > 0:10:21'so they have to broadcast from neighbouring Poland.'
0:10:21 > 0:10:25I mean, it surely can't help that one of kind of Lukashenko's most
0:10:25 > 0:10:29famous quotes is, "It's better to be a dictator than to be gay."
0:10:29 > 0:10:30Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41- Really?- On these places.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56Imagine, say, we are two gay guys
0:10:56 > 0:10:59and all of these guys find out,
0:10:59 > 0:11:01what would their reaction be?
0:11:08 > 0:11:09- Really?- Yeah, yeah.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14Lukashenko isn't the only local leader who appears to have enjoyed
0:11:14 > 0:11:16the spring of eternal manliness.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20Until recently, his closest ally was his neighbour and all-round
0:11:20 > 0:11:23alpha male, Vladimir Putin in Russia.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26But apparently, when Putin sent troops into Ukraine,
0:11:26 > 0:11:27Belarus's neighbour,
0:11:27 > 0:11:32poor old Luka got a little nervous that the same could happen to him.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34DOG BARKS
0:11:34 > 0:11:37So, all of a sudden, to make friends with Europe,
0:11:37 > 0:11:40he started releasing political prisoners.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42Hello.
0:11:42 > 0:11:44Nice to meet you. 'On the outskirts of the city,
0:11:44 > 0:11:48'I met up with someone who's spent more time in local cells than most.'
0:11:48 > 0:11:51This is a big dog, is this to keep out the KGB?
0:11:51 > 0:11:53Yes.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57'At 28 years old, Pavel's been to jail 19 times.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59'Once for more than eight months.'
0:12:01 > 0:12:06Why become the face, you know, of a kind of opposition movement,
0:12:06 > 0:12:08and make life difficult for yourself?
0:12:18 > 0:12:20- Did you put this up because I was coming?- Yes!
0:12:22 > 0:12:26- Only today.- 'To try to keep smiling during his spells out of the cells,
0:12:26 > 0:12:28'Pavel makes home-brewed spirits.'
0:12:41 > 0:12:43So, this is basically medicine is what you're saying?
0:12:43 > 0:12:46- Yes, yes, yes.- I will be cured of all my ailments?
0:12:46 > 0:12:47Fantastic!
0:12:49 > 0:12:53'Pavel became a minor celebrity in Belarus a couple of years ago when
0:12:53 > 0:12:57'one of his protests landed him and his friends behind bars yet again.'
0:13:14 > 0:13:18First tonight, a story that the government of Belarus doesn't want you to see.
0:13:18 > 0:13:23The protest went international when a Swedish organisation,
0:13:23 > 0:13:24in solidarity with Pavel,
0:13:24 > 0:13:28flew into Belarussian airspace and dropped 1,000 teddy bears with
0:13:28 > 0:13:30pro-democracy slogans.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33Lukashenko was apparently terrified by the teddy-bear invasion.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42He fired the head of his air force and expelled the Swedish ambassador.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47This one looks a bit heavy!
0:13:47 > 0:13:50'And his henchmen have kept an eye on Pavel ever since.'
0:13:50 > 0:13:52Do you think we could be bugged right now?
0:14:01 > 0:14:05I mean, it just sounds like a ridiculously stressful life.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20'I was beginning to appreciate how all the moonshine
0:14:20 > 0:14:23'could help take the stress out of Pavel's situation.'
0:14:24 > 0:14:27I think I'm getting to the point where I'm off me tits.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29"Off me tits?"
0:14:29 > 0:14:30No...
0:14:33 > 0:14:35He doesn't know!
0:14:36 > 0:14:37Off my tits.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40I know what is tits.
0:14:40 > 0:14:41But I don't understand...
0:14:41 > 0:14:43I am off my...
0:14:43 > 0:14:45It's just a term. I don't know where it comes from,
0:14:45 > 0:14:46I don't know the etymology,
0:14:46 > 0:14:49but it is an accurate description of how I'm starting to feel,
0:14:49 > 0:14:52do you know what I mean? Thank you very much for meeting me.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55- It's a pleasure.- Good luck, hopefully I won't get arrested in about ten minutes.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00All right, so I'm not going to lie to you, I am definitely a little bit
0:15:00 > 0:15:05smashed, probably had about seven too many shots, but...
0:15:05 > 0:15:07Yeah, meeting those guys was genuinely interesting.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09I've spent, like, the first half of my trip here
0:15:09 > 0:15:13thinking that it didn't really seem that bad,
0:15:13 > 0:15:15the streets seemed quite normal
0:15:15 > 0:15:18and it's quite a nice city centre, and then these guys have really
0:15:18 > 0:15:21put it all into perspective. Once you go against the regime here,
0:15:21 > 0:15:24once you go against Lukashenko, life changes for you,
0:15:24 > 0:15:27and it changes very dramatically for the worse.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33Back in the centre of town,
0:15:33 > 0:15:35there was more evidence that Lukashenko might be lightening up a bit.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42So, just round this corner is something I really did not expect to see in a dictatorship,
0:15:42 > 0:15:45which is an opposition protest rally.
0:15:51 > 0:15:55This is the anniversary of a referendum that Lukashenko held 20 years ago
0:15:55 > 0:15:58to this day, which essentially allowed him to stay in power forever,
0:15:58 > 0:16:03so this is what they see as the moment he became a dictator in this country.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15The man everyone had come to see was Nikolai Stakovich, who was released
0:16:15 > 0:16:18from prison a few months ago.
0:16:18 > 0:16:22He spent four years in jail for daring to stand against Lukashenko
0:16:22 > 0:16:24in the last presidential elections.
0:16:28 > 0:16:33'I was beginning to feel a bit more positive about the state of Belarussian democracy.'
0:16:33 > 0:16:36I would not expect this to be even allowed to happen.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39'But then I looked a little closer.
0:16:39 > 0:16:40'Instead of filming the speaker,
0:16:40 > 0:16:43'a lot of the camera crews seemed to be filming the protesters.'
0:16:44 > 0:16:48It's the KGB coming with cameras to basically get the protesters' faces
0:16:48 > 0:16:50on camera, and also just to intimidate people.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53And I think this guy behind me is doing that thing
0:16:53 > 0:16:56and so I'm going to see what he's doing.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59Excuse me? What's happening here?
0:17:00 > 0:17:03Are you filming for the media?
0:17:03 > 0:17:04- No comment.- No comment?
0:17:04 > 0:17:07Filming for KGB...
0:17:07 > 0:17:10Excuse me? Can I just ask you a quick question?
0:17:11 > 0:17:14Are you filming us for the media or KGB?
0:17:15 > 0:17:18What are you filming me for right now?
0:17:18 > 0:17:22There's another guy to the left... right. Your left.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27It is a bit weird and intimidating, I can imagine,
0:17:27 > 0:17:30especially if you live here. Some random dude, won't talk to you,
0:17:30 > 0:17:32sticks a camera in your face.
0:17:32 > 0:17:33Wondering what's going on.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37Is it possible to get an answer?
0:17:38 > 0:17:39This is kind of awkward.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42So the protest is pretty much over,
0:17:42 > 0:17:46and the only people who remain are me and about 12 people from the KGB.
0:17:47 > 0:17:51I'm not going to lie to you, I'm slightly pooing my pants,
0:17:51 > 0:17:53and that was quite a small protest,
0:17:53 > 0:17:57but I can kind of understand why you wouldn't want to go to one, mainly due to
0:17:57 > 0:18:01the fact that there is a reasonable chance that afterwards you'll end up
0:18:01 > 0:18:05in jail for two weeks, or quite simply just have the shit kicked out of you by the KGB.
0:18:09 > 0:18:15My time in Belarus showed that Lukashenko is still a brutal authoritarian ruler.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17But there are at least some signs of hope.
0:18:18 > 0:18:22On the one hand, it's obviously not a blossoming democracy.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24But on the other, it is going through a change,
0:18:24 > 0:18:27is going through this period of liberalisation which, as you've seen,
0:18:27 > 0:18:30means people can protest, they can speak out a bit more,
0:18:30 > 0:18:32they're going to jail less,
0:18:32 > 0:18:35but the question is whether that is like an actual concrete change,
0:18:35 > 0:18:37and whether things are going to keep getting better,
0:18:37 > 0:18:39and people keep getting freer,
0:18:39 > 0:18:43or whether, at some point, everything will just go back to the way it always has been.
0:18:43 > 0:18:45And I just don't know the answer to that.