MOSCOW—Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko promoted hardline loyalists to top posts in his security apparatus on Sept. 3 in an effort to strengthen his grip on the former Soviet republic after weeks of mass protests and strikes.
Lukashenko, facing the biggest challenge to his 26-year rule, accompanied the reshuffle with instructions to act tough in the face of what he has repeatedly alleged is foreign aggression ahead of talks with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and a Russian government delegation.
