These socks may seem ordinary to you, but in Belarus they are considered political A woman was driving home from a Belarusian driving school when she was approached by four masked men. The woman, who lives in the capital, Minsk, was told she was wearing inappropriate clothing. But why? Because they were wearing white socks with red stripes that looked like a forbidden flag.
The woman was also accused of making a victory sign for passing drivers who were responding. The woman was fined heavily. Belarusian authorities are now cracking down on those waving red and white opposition flags, as well as those wearing socks of these colors. The red-striped white flag was briefly the flag of Belarusian nationalists in the 20th century. Soviet communists replaced it with a red and green flag, adding a hammer and sickle and a traditional folklorist. The flag was reintroduced by President Alexander Lukashenko in 1995 after the fall of communism, but now the hammer and sickle mark is missing.