Thousands of enthusiastic supporters watched in a state of awe as Aung San Suu Kyi stepped outside of her Yangon home on the afternoon of Nov. 13. Wearing a lilac dress, she “took a flower from someone in the crowd and placed it in her hair,” according to BBC press reports.

Largely regarded as Myanmar’s preeminent leader of democratic opposition to the military-controlled government, the 65-year-old woman was released after spending 15 of the past 21 years under house arrest.

Suu Kyi’s release came six days after Myanmar’s first first election in two decades, which many international observers claim was rigged in favor of the military-supported Union Solidarity and Development party.

Outside media, like The New York Times, “speculate that her release by the Burmese government may have been an attempt to both appease the international community and control unrest at home.”

Speaking to BBC’s John Simpson in her first press appearance in seven years, Suu Kyi said that the government’s decision to free her boiled down to “a question of: are we (the Burmese government) going to go to the trouble of trumping up another charge, or do we let her go; and I think they decided in the end it would be easier to let me go.”

However, the significance of Suu Kyi’s release for Myanmar’s political future remains largely speculative.

“Though the military will still hold power, there will be new political institutions and new office-holders who could alter the dynamics of her interactions with the government,” reported The New York Times the day after Suu Kyi’s release.

The daughter of the prominent Burmese statesman Aung San, Suu Kyi has been intimately connected to the country’s politics since her childhood. For 28 years, she lived abroad, leaving Myanmar to study at Oxford University in 1960.

Returning in 1988 to care for her ailing mother, Suu Kyi faced a country in political chaos due to the resignation of longtime dictator Ne Win.

Amid massive protests for democracy, Suu Kyi founded the National League for Democracy (NLD).

After the effective takeover of the government by a military junta, she was placed under house arrest on July 20, 1989, in an attempt by the military leaders to suppress opposition.

Associate Professor of Political Science George Guo gave some insight into Myanmar’s history of political turmoil as he discussed the 1990 Burmese elections.

“Only a year after her house arrest, Suu Kyi’s National League of Democracy won a majority in the elections despite the country’s military control, but the results were nullified,” said Guo.

“Her efforts for parliamentary democracy were very courageous and seen as a legitimate challenge to the regime.”

Throughout her captivity, Suu Kyi was briefly released several times under the pretense of unconditional liberty. During these periods of freedom, she and her supporters faced danger from government-sponsored attacks.

The most notable incidence of violence occurred on May 30, 2003, when her convoy was attacked by members of the ruling party.

Although Suu Kyi survived, 70 of her supporters were killed in what became known as the “Depayin Massacre.” Suu Kyi was once again placed under house arrest shortly afterwards.

“Before my own eyes, people were being beaten savagely,” said eyewitness U Khin Zaw of the massacre in a report by the Ad Hoc Commission.

“I was hearing the wounded, dying victims moaning and wailing in pain, shrieking in agony, and crying out for help,” Zaw said. “At that time, as the attackers … were shouting unspeakable abuses, it was just like the hell boiling over.”

The next several years saw mounting regional and international pressure for Suu Kyi’s release.

Most notably, Former Malaysian Prime Minister Matathir bin Mohamed declared that Myanmar would face possible expulsion from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) if Suu Kyi was not released.

“We have already informed them that we are very disappointed with the turn of events and we hope that Aung San Suu Kyi will be released as soon as possible,” Mohamed said in a press statement to BBC in 2003.

By 2007, internal anger over Suu Kyi’s captivity had come to a head. Nationwide protests were led by Buddhist monks to lobby for political reform. Suu Kyi appeared outside her house to accept their blessings on September 22, 2007.

The Burmese government began to debate her potential release, facing trade embargoes from both the EU and the United States as well as solidarity protests worldwide. On Oct. 1, the military junta announced that Suu Kyi’s house arrest would terminate on Nov. 13.

Speaking shortly after her release, Suu Kyi urged her supporters to aid her in efforts to reform Myanmar.

“I’m not going to be able to do it alone,” said Suu Kyi to the cheering crowd, according to CNN. “One person alone can’t do anything as important as bringing genuine democracy to a country.”

Many world leaders remain unsure of how Suu Kyi’s release will aid democratic efforts in Myanmar.

“Whether Aung San Suu Kyi is living in the prison of her house, or the prison of her country, does not change the fact that she, and the political opposition she represents, has been systematically silenced,” President Barack Obama stated in a press statement to BBC.

“Suu Kyi’s release represents a major step for Myanmar, but they’ll still continue to harass political opponents,” said Guo. “This step shows that they’re open to outside influence however.”