Klimovich is a small market town in Belarus, a stone's throw from the border with Russia. Nothing seems to have changed here in the 18 years since the break-up of the Soviet Union.

Today one of the leaders of the opposition has come to meet the town's activists.

Like everyone who opposes President Alexander Lukashenko, Alexander Milinkevich is a victim of censorship. He is never seen on television and most of the locals don't even recognise him.

"But we are not foreigners," Alexanandre Milikevitch says to an old woman who hasn’t recognize him. "We speak Belarussian, as you can see! It's not easy, not easy at all to be a democrat in our country."

The authoritarian President Lukashenko suffers from his country's economic dependence on Russia. He is looking for new outlets for exports and has decided on a course of action: promising reform in exchange for the relaxation of European sanctions against Belarus.

After 15 years in power, reform does not come easily.

"Don't misunderstand me," says Lukashenko. "There is no group around the president calling for me to turn to the West. We are going where we are wanted."

In the countryside, the president remains very popular, his name synonymous with stability.

"He's a good leader," says Larissa Stepanova, a retired teacher. "He is hard and strong, he rules the country with an iron hand, and for us that's important."

In Belarus, plain clothes police openly watch the comings and goings of journalists who meet with the opposition.

Milinkevich has to meet his supporters in a private apartment.

In contrast to the other opposition leaders, he supports the relaxation of sanctions by Europe and the end of his country's isolation.

"We can talk about isolating Belarus," he says, "and introducing economic sanctions, but we are talking not just about one man who rules but about the lives of nearly 10 million Europeans."

Alexander Streltsov is one who may benefit from reforms.

Because officially there are now no longer any political prisoners in jail in Belarus, Streltsov is serving his sentence at home.

"I can only go to work, that's all," he says. "I can't even go and see my neighbours."

He has been sentenced to two years of house arrest for taking part in a demonstration against President Lukashenko.

Human rights defenders say the punishment is severe, but they say they are happy he's not behind bars.

"It's the first time in 15 years that the regime in Belarus has given in to pressure," says Oleg Gulak, president of the Helsinki Comittee for Belarus. "It's not because they want change, but because they have no choice."