{"id":153327,"date":"2025-09-01T15:20:53","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T12:20:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/153327\/"},"modified":"2025-09-01T15:20:55","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T12:20:55","slug":"will-belarusians-give-a-legal-definition-to-lukashism","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/153327\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Belarusians Give a Legal Definition to \u201cLukashism\u201d?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On August 29, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a law defining \u201cRussism\u201d as a totalitarian ideology. In Belarus, many use the word \u201c\u0141ukashism\u201d to describe Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s repressive system. The debate now is whether the term should be legally defined.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe regime lacks ideological foundations\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Political scientist Alexander Friedman, who is based in Germany, argues that \u201c\u0141ukashism\u201d is not an ideology in the strict sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018Lukashism\u2019 is associated with violent methods of retaining power rather than an ideology. The regime lacks ideological foundations,\u201d he told The Viewer<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He warned that Belarusians must face the legacy of repression after \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s eventual departure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn Eastern Europe, nations that failed to assess the crimes of the communist dictatorship are doing worse than those that worked through the trauma\u2014although this is not a panacea.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friedman cited East Germany as a cautionary tale. \u201cThere is hardly a thing they have not done. They created commissions, conducted dialogue, included GDR-era crimes in textbooks and opened the archives. However, this part of Germany has shown quite a worrying trend,\u201d he said, referring to the rise of the pro-Russian Alternative for Germany (AfD).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He cautioned against turning the page too quickly. \u201cIt would be too simplistic to blame \u0141uka\u0161enka and a few dozen people for everything. This is a much deeper issue. If this regime had no foundation, it would not last so long. The KGB archives could burst the bubble many Belarusians are in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLaw must not be used for political revenge\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For Leanid Sudalenka, a human rights advocate and former political prisoner, the definition of \u201c\u0141ukashism\u201d is not only a legal matter but also a moral one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLaw must not be used for political revenge. It must deliver justice, restore the rights of the victims and most importantly prevent the repetition of flawed practices in the future,\u201d he told The Viewer<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sudalenka called for political and legal measures to condemn repression, hold perpetrators accountable and prevent a return to authoritarianism. He proposed creating a national institute to manage archives, document repression and educate the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u0141ukashism is not just dictatorship. This is a system of violence, terror and lies,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He believes any commission on \u201c\u0141ukashism\u201d should bring together lawyers, human rights advocates, historians, political scientists and victims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe commission is not the end in itself, but part of a broader process of justice during the transition period.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA system of violence, terror and lies\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sudalenka stresses that \u201c\u0141ukashism\u201d should be understood as more than the rule of one man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is about the concentration of power in one hands, the destruction of independent media and civil society, systemic repression such as arrests, torture and forced emigration, vote rigging, the elimination of political competition, the subjugation of courts, parliament and local self-government bodies, the domination of punishment and secret agencies and the use of state propaganda for mass manipulation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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