> Now his support has fallen, along with Putin's support, to 1-3%.

It may seem like preaching to the choir because I am not Russian or Belarusian. Here is my take, his support has fallen but he has total control of the military and armed forces. Your support does not matter as long as you have strength to put people in line. All that matter is control.

Now if Lukashenka loses control and does not leave Belarus. He will die. His family will die. Not just him all his supporters will be criminally prosecuted. So his only choice is to suppress. What options does he have?

>Putin, Lukashenko and the like had a choice.

Do you think any of those guys would be alive if they did not present themselves as a brutal dictator?

Would you sacrifice your life and your family's well being for other people's rights? They have no choice or the choice has not been made apparent.

Also you have to know that Putin and Luka are just figure heads. There is a whole mechanism of people behind them that operate their dictatorship. And the instant they suspect their position is in jeopardy they will not hesitate to change the leadership with coups.

You can't just blame Hitler. Half of the country was supporting Nazis at that time.

I still don't think many people relish the torture of people no matter how much power they wield. I also don't think people in power do it because they like the pain and suffering of the people. They do it because in many cases they have no choice. If it wasn't him/her someone else would be doing it in their stead. I think it is just some assholes and psychopaths who enjoy hurting people.

I would not enjoy my life if I hurt people. Maybe hurting people is just your thing.

I am not sure why you have to make progress. Just enjoy life. Do things you want to do and soon you will be dead.

Sunk cost fallacy?