Vladimir Putin has offered to help ensure Belarus's security, according to its president Alexander Lukashenko, as pressure builds on the strongman leader and opposition protesters prepare for a show of forceon Sunday.
Thousands demonstrated in the capital Minsk on Saturday after main election challenger Svetlana Tikhanovskaya asked supporters to rally over the weekend and keep alive a movement that poses the biggest challenge to Lukashenko's hold over the ex-Soviet country.
Many gathered at the spot where Alexander Taraikovsky, 34, died on Monday during protests against an election the opposition says was rigged to give Lukashenko another term in office.
Demonstrators heaped flowers at the spot and the crowd chanted "Thank you!" and raised victory signs. Police kept a low profile.
Many held up photographs of protesters beaten during the crackdown, while one man stood in his underwear revealing the purple bruises on his thighs, buttocks and back.
Later thousands protested outside the Belarusian state television centre, complaining that their broadcasts backed Lukashenko and gave a skewed picture of the protests.
Around 100 staff came out of the building to join the crowd, and said they planned a strike on Monday.
"Like everyone we are demanding free elections and the release of those detained at mass protests," said one employee, Andrei Yaroshevich.
Riot police later arrived at the centre and blocked off the entrance to the building.
The opposition is planning a major show of force on Sunday with a "March for Freedom" through the streets of central Minsk.
'Will not give up the country'
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday urged Lukashenko to "engage with civil society", during a trip to Poland, which has offered to act as a mediator.
Tikhanovskaya, a 37-year-old political novice who ran after other opposition candidates including her husband were jailed, accuses Lukashenko of rigging the vote and has demanded he step down so new elections can be held.
The 65-year-old has ruled Belarus with an iron grip and claims to have won the election with 80 percent of the vote.
Tikhanovskaya left the country on Tuesday for neighbouring Lithuania, with her allies saying she came under official pressure.
She is also demanding authorities be held to account for the crackdown, which saw police use rubber bullets, stun grenades and, in at least one case, live rounds to disperse protesters, with at least 6,700 people detained and hundreds injured.
Officials have confirmed two deaths in the unrest, including Taraikovsky -- who they say died when an explosive device went off in his hand during a protest -- and another man who died in custody in the south-eastern city of Gomel.
