Problems with the Internet, which began throughout Belarus on August 9, continue for the third day in a row, RIA Novosti reports on August 11.
In particular, due to poor connection, the websites of state bodies are loaded with interruptions, search engines, YouTube and instant messengers do not work.
“Brestskaya Gazeta” wrote that at a meeting with presidential candidates on July 30, State Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus Andrei Ravkov warned that the country may turn off the Internet on the day of the presidential election, August 9, in the event of a worsening of the situation, in particular provocations at rallies.
At the same time, on August 11, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, who won the vote, said that the Internet in the republic is being disconnected from abroad, this is not an initiative of the authorities. According to the head of state, experts understand where the blocking comes from.
According to Vadim Shaibakov, deputy general director of the Internet operator Beltelecom for technical issues, the interruptions were associated with channel congestion due to foreign traffic.
The Internet in the republic began to disappear in the morning on the day of the presidential election. On the morning of August 10, the websites of government agencies and state-owned media worked steadily, but problems with access to Internet resources and popular instant messengers remained.
On August 9, presidential elections were held in Belarus. According to the CEC, Lukashenko won 80.08% of the vote, and Svetlana Tikhanovskaya – 10.09%. The third place was taken by the “candidate against all”.
After the announcement of the preliminary results, unauthorized protest actions began in Minsk and other cities of Belarus. The shares continued on the evening of August 10 and Tuesday night.