{"id":11458,"date":"2022-08-09T15:38:38","date_gmt":"2022-08-09T12:38:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/longreads\/overstaying-lukasenka-does-belarus-a-lot-of-damage\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","slug":"overstaying-lukasenka-does-belarus-a-lot-of-damage","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11458\/","title":{"rendered":"Overstaying \u0141uka\u0161enka does Belarus a lot of damage"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n By Alaksandr K\u0142asko\u016dski, BPN<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t * Reproduction is allowed\n<\/p>\n

\n Two years ago, millions of Belarusians voted for a new president, but Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka defied their choice and refused to step down. He forced his chief rival to flee the country and took his time to suppress public protests against vote rigging. His desperate attempts to keep his grip have done enormous damage to Belarus.<\/b>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Holas, an online system for collecting and counting votes, said the Sviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja received at least three million votes and won in the first round of the presidential election held on August 9, 2020. The central election commission claimed that she gained only 10.1 percent.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Cichano\u016dskaja and thousands of opponents fled the country for fear of reprisals, which continue unabated two years later.\n<\/p>\n

Economic downturn<\/span> <\/h2>\n

\n\t Belarus\u2019 economy contracted by 4.2 percent in the first six months amid sanctions imposed by the West over allegations of human rights abuses and for the regime\u2019s role in Russia\u2019s assault on Ukraine.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Western sanctions also target Russia, which has subsidized Belarus\u2019 largely unreformed economy.\n<\/p>\n

Reprisals<\/span> <\/h2>\n

\n\t The government\u2019s large-scale crackdown on dissent has forced tens of thousands or even maybe hundreds of thousands Belarusians, including many young, talented and educated people, to flee abroad. The human capital flight continues.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Legal political activity is impossible in the country. Dissidents are given lengthy prison sentences. \u0141uka\u0161enka has turned his country into a big prison.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t The government has closed down hundreds of nonprofits and forced others to terminate operation as the regime is looking to establish government-directed civil society organizations.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t The government has given up on its earlier cautious efforts to assert Belarusian national identity and resist Russian expansion. It has banned Belarusian symbols and books as extremist, outlawed Belarusian media outlets and jailed journalists, exposing the country to Russian propaganda.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Supporters and opponents of the regime are extremely divided along ideological lines, independent polls suggest. State media and officials demonize opponents, using a language of hate, while police mistreat dissidents and suspects in prisons. It may take years to overcome the political polarization.\n<\/p>\n

Masses hope for change<\/span> <\/h2>\n

\n\t Back in the 1990s, \u0141uka\u0161enka announced a policy toward closer ties with Russia. He successfully resisted Moscow\u2019s attempts to expand its influence on Belarus until 2020.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Vladimir Putin stood by him during the 2020 protests against vote rigging in the presidential election. Now the Russian president sees his Belarusian counterpart as his vassal.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t The Kremlin cynically used Belarus as a staging ground for its assault on Ukraine. Minsk has ceded its sovereignty over military matters and foreign policies to Moscow. The country seems to be on the verge of losing its independence.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t It is not a surprise that the Kremlin has \u0141uka\u0161enka cornered. It is sad that it has Belarus cornered too.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t The Belarusian ruler is paying a price for his obsession with power. The Belarusians are paying a high price too as the country backslides to Stalinism.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t The year 2020 showed that most Belarusians want change and do not support the regime. Change will come however hard the regime tries to suppress dissent. It is just a question of how long \u0141uka\u0161enka and Putin can swim against the tide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Alaksandr K\u0142asko\u016dski, BPN * Reproduction is allowed Two years ago, millions of Belarusians voted for a new president, but Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka defied their choice and refused to step down. He forced his chief rival to flee the country and took his time to suppress public protests against vote rigging. His desperate attempts to keep his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[22],"class_list":["post-11458","longreads","type-longreads","status-publish","hentry","rubric-theviewer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nOverstaying \u0141uka\u0161enka does Belarus a lot of damage | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Alaksandr K\u0142asko\u016dski, BPN * Reproduction is allowed Two years ago, millions of Belarusians voted for a new president, but Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11458\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Overstaying \u0141uka\u0161enka does Belarus a lot of damage | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" 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