SVT met Vadmin Vensky and his family at the end of August during a visit to the city of Grodno in western Belarus.

Here is one of the country's most important factories, Grodno Azot with 7,500 employees.

Vadim Venskij is a machine operator at the chemical plant.

A little reluctantly, he became one of the protest leaders at the factory.

When SVT met the family, the feelings were mixed.

On the one hand, Vadim wanted to support the workers' struggle against dictator Lukashenko, on the other hand, he was worried about being fired.

The family with two children lived on his salary.

Vadim's wife Asja was on parental leave with their little daughter.

Asja had also taken an active role in the women's demonstrations.

Vadim was worried that she would be arrested and that he would be left alone with their breastfeeding daughter.

Since the end of opposition leader Svetlana Tichanovskaya's ultimatum, a national strike has erupted in Belarus.

The ultimatum demanding the resignation of Luakshenko and the release of all political prisoners was not fulfilled.

Thus, the country's large state-owned factories came into focus.

One of the most important is Grodno Azot.

"It was a strange dismissal"

When the workers tried to join the general strike on Monday, they were met by police and about thirty were arrested.

The police used violence against several employees.

That made Vadim decide not to go on tonight's night shift.

Then he was fired.

- It was a strange dismissal.

My friends at the factory wrote and told me.

But there are laws that must regulate such, through the union that I am a member of. But even labor law seems to have ceased to apply.

Vadim Vensky had worked at the factory for 18 years.

At first he felt worried about how he would support the family, but at the same time he was relieved.

- Every day when the shift was over, we joked: "see you tomorrow, if we were not imprisoned before that".

It is not possible to work and perform advanced technical tasks when someone waves batons at your head.

"Everyone has a goal now - to get rid of Lukashenko"

He no longer feels any concern for the family's finances.

Vadim's hobby is to build and sell wooden toys.

Now the orders are pouring in.

- I am overwhelmed by the enormous support we have received, even from unknown people.

Everyone is closing in, because everyone has a goal now - to get rid of Lukashenko.

Right now all my time is spent trying to understand how to handle all this help.

- One thing is clear: we will not perish.

Something new will come instead, and whatever it is, it can only get better, says Vadim Vensky.