{"id":11464,"date":"2022-08-21T12:53:43","date_gmt":"2022-08-21T09:53:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/longreads\/lukasenka-trying-to-turn-over-page-on-rigged-elections-promotes-stability\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","slug":"lukasenka-trying-to-turn-over-page-on-rigged-elections-promotes-stability","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11464\/","title":{"rendered":"\u0141uka\u0161enka trying to turn over page on rigged elections, promotes stability"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n <span>By Valeryj Karbalevi\u010d, BPN<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t * Reproduction prohibited\n<\/p>\n<p>\n <b><span>Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka is trying to recast himself as guarantor of stability after his shambolic re-election campaign and post-election violence.<\/span><\/b>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The Belarusian ruler has deemphasized domestic political tension in the last three weeks.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Uncharacteristically, he did not show up at a forum held by his stalwarts on August 9, the second anniversary of the presidential election. Nor has he commented on a conference held by his opponents on the same day.\n<\/p>\n<h2>No comment on Ziabra\u016dka incident <\/h2>\n<p>\n\t \u0141uka\u0161enka has mentioned the Russian-Ukrainian conflict only in passing in the last couple of weeks despite Belarus\u2019 involvement in it. He has not commented on reports that locals heard about eight explosions at the Ziabra\u016dka airfield in southern Belarus on August 10.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The Belarusian defense ministry played down the incident, saying that a military vehicle\u2019s replaced engine caught fire during a test run.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for any attacks in Belarus, but has not categorically denied that an attack took place.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The Ziabra\u016dka explosions occurred around the same time as Ukrainian attacks on a military airfield in Crimea.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t \u0141uka\u0161enka had said that Belarus would retaliate immediately should Ukraine attack any sites in Belarus. He has not commented on the incident.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Nine days later, he said he was not planning to attack Ukraine. \u201cDo not you think that I am planning some kind of attack here, that we will bomb Ukraine from the territory of Belarus and so on. I have no desire for a war between our children. What for? We need to calm down,\u201d he told officials during a visit to the Pru\u017eany district, Brest region, on August 19.\n<\/p>\n<h2>Attempt to recast himself as guarantor of stability<\/h2>\n<p>\n\t \u0141uka\u0161enka seems to be trying to recast himself as guarantor of stability after two years of sociopolitical turbulence. State-run propaganda television shows him every day doing routine work, inspecting farms and factories.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t He is acting as if the political crisis is over and the country is back to normal.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The government is trying to turn the page by regenerating a narrative of stability, which he effectively exploited before the 2020 presidential election marred by allegations of fraud, mass protests and police violence.\n<\/p>\n<h2>Regime keeps rubbing salt into wounds<\/h2>\n<p>\n\t However, it seems impossible to turn the page after what has happened.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t \u0141uka\u0161enka stalwarts held a forum of patriotic forces in Minsk on August 9 to celebrate their leader\u2019s victory in the presidential election.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The Belarusian ruler ignored the forum, and it did not receive much media coverage.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t August 9 was the beginning of mass protests in the country. Police brutality and arrests were especially traumatic for the nation. For this reason, authorities wanted their celebration of \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s victory to go unnoticed in Belarus\u2019 politically combustive environment.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Meanwhile, authorities continue to arrest and jail dissidents and purge government agencies of opponents. Political trials and new arrests receive extensive coverage in the state media. Political and economic emigration has gained momentum.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Belarusians are aware of and have been affected by international sanctions, restrictions on travel to the European Union and a lack of vacation destinations. Their social and economic problems multiply.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t It would be difficult for authorities to paint a picture of stability as long as political tension remains high and the system remains off balance.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t &nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Valeryj Karbalevi\u010d, BPN * Reproduction prohibited Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka is trying to recast himself as guarantor of stability after his shambolic re-election campaign and post-election violence. The Belarusian ruler has deemphasized domestic political tension in the last three weeks. Uncharacteristically, he did not show up at a forum held by his stalwarts on August 9, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[22],"class_list":["post-11464","longreads","type-longreads","status-publish","hentry","rubric-theviewer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>\u0141uka\u0161enka trying to turn over page on rigged elections, promotes stability | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Valeryj Karbalevi\u010d, BPN * Reproduction prohibited Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka is trying to recast himself as guarantor of stability after his shambolic\" \/>\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\/11464\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta 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