Now on BBC World Service, August in Minsk.

Bela Russian journalist filmmaker and photographer Ilia Kuznyatsoff

has been out on the streets each day, recording a summer of revolt against

Alexander Lukashenko's long Soviet-style rule. It all began when for the first time real alternative candidates stood in presidential elections

and a stagnant political scene sprang to life.

The security forces swooped on opposition voters fast and Belarusians responded in their

thousands with ever bigger and more ingenious protests. So my name is Ilia.

I'm 51 years old.

I've lived in Belarus all of my life.

I live in the center of Minsk and I was personally expecting

very quiet and boring elections as usual, like the previous five times, but it looked like people suddenly woke up.

They wanted to show their protest by peaceful means.

They were silently standing in lines along the main streets of Minsk,

doing nothing, not chanting anything, not holding slogans, not clapping hands.

And what happened? Police van rides into the crowd at high speed big scary green van and riot police they run out of the band dressed in black uniform with their faces closed.

And start grabbing people like crazy,

and start grabbing people like crazy like all kinds of people old people

young people some kids from school I T specialist teachers I had to run away three

I had to run away three times in a day from police. And of course everybody has cell phones so people filmed it. People were very angry about this.

They're shouting,

They're shouting, Pas-O-Pazor, which means shame.

We Belarusians are very quiet, polite people.

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