Braving the wrath of their hardline president, protesters took to the streets of Belarus over the weekend in the latest show of anger at a so-called ‘social parasite tax’ on those deemed to be doing too little work.

After earlier rallies, President Alexander Lukashenko agreed to suspend its collection.

But demonstrators want it scrapped altogether. Many were middle-aged and elderly people who complained there was no work for them.

“It is easy for him to say ‘Go and look for a job!’ Yes, you can look for a job long and hard. But how are you supposed to live in the meantime? I don’t know…You have to pay for a flat, eat bread and use transport to look for a job,” said a middle-aged woman in the city of Babruysk.