{"id":11491,"date":"2022-11-02T11:13:47","date_gmt":"2022-11-02T08:13:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/longreads\/price-freeze-destabilizes-belarus\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","slug":"price-freeze-destabilizes-belarus","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11491\/","title":{"rendered":"Price freeze destabilizes Belarus"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n <span>By Valeryj Karbalevi\u010d <\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p><span> <\/span><\/p>\n<p>\n\t * Reposting prohibited\n<\/p>\n<p>\n <span>The Belarusian leader\u2019s decision to freeze prices exposed political and social flaws of his regime.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<h2>Economic terror<\/h2>\n<p>\n\t Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka has resorted to price controls too often during his 30 years in office but has been unable to effectively curb inflation.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t On October 6, he issued a directive to freeze prices. Investigators have opened dozens of criminal cases over what they see as unfounded price hikes, arresting a number of retail store managers.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Some of those arrested were forced to make confessions that were filmed by police officers and posted online. Authorities mistreat not only political opponents but also business people.\n<\/p>\n<h2>Economic populism<\/h2>\n<p>\n\t The campaign has had political repercussions.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t 1. The government has reverted to a policy of economic populism. \u0141uka\u0161enka repeatedly used similar methods before. However, the new attempt to shore up public support is likely to fail because the nation has changed in the last two years.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t 2. \u0141uka\u0161enka has made another step toward a mobilization economy. In the last year, his government has raised taxes for small businesses and moved to restrict labor force movements in the country. In a throwback to the Soviet era, the Belarusian leader several months ago told local authorities to mobilize students for the harvest.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The 2020 social unrest showed that a market economy is an unfavorable environment for dictatorial regimes. Private company employees were the driving force of mass protests against vote rigging and police brutality in 2020. \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s current economic policy is also a retaliation against private businesses for the 2020 events.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t 3. Forced video concessions show that the Belarusian ruler and his lieutenants enjoy humiliating people, both dissidents and business people.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t \u0141uka\u0161enka might have been dreaming for a long time of establishing a system, in which people are obedient and ready to tolerate any kind of mistreatment and humiliation.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t He managed to create it after 2020 because he no longer cares about what people think about him in Belarus and abroad. This system suits him well.\n<\/p>\n<h2>Chaotic measures<\/h2>\n<p>\n\t The price freeze may backfire.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The directive was supposed to be a temporary measure followed by the introduction of an effective price control mechanism. But it was followed by rush decisions that confused businesses.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The government issued Directive No. 713 on October 19 establishing the price control mechanism. It made some changes to the directive on October 26 but would not publish the amended directive until the next day\u2019s afternoon. In fact, it enacted the amendments retroactively.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The uncertainty forced small traders and big retailers to suspend operation in 13 towns across the country. The stoppages prompted a response from authorities. Officials in Homiel warned business owners that they may face criminal charges for going on a strike.\n<\/p>\n<h2>Lack of checks and balances<\/h2>\n<p>\n\t The government\u2019s poor decisions triggered mass protests in 2017 against a tax on so-called social parasites.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The personalistic regime has its weaknesses. If the dictator makes an error, there is no one to correct it. He does not receive any feedback from the public and from officials. Officials might be aware that the price freeze was a bad idea, but did not dare to object.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t \u0141uka\u0161enka is in a mess of own making. He remains the main source of instability in Belarus.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t &nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Valeryj Karbalevi\u010d * Reposting prohibited The Belarusian leader\u2019s decision to freeze prices exposed political and social flaws of his regime. Economic terror Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka has resorted to price controls too often during his 30 years in office but has been unable to effectively curb inflation. On October 6, he issued a directive to freeze [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[22],"class_list":["post-11491","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>Price freeze destabilizes Belarus | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Valeryj Karbalevi\u010d * Reposting prohibited The Belarusian leader\u2019s decision to freeze prices exposed political and social flaws of his regime. 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