'I am already a lesser evil': how Lukashenko 25 years in power

Late at night, under the pretext that the building was mined, police and special forces of the special militia forces broke into the hall. Deputy Valentin Golubev, for Feduta, recalled how this happened:

“At first I heard something strange in the air, it’s even difficult to retell it: the air sways when a lot of people walk - either in formation, or even out of step, but a lot of people.” He stood up and looked out of the doors of the meeting room into the foyer - it was filled with armed people. “Near the doors, it seems to me, there was a man with a light machine gun who immediately pointed it at my stomach. Everyone who stood at the door had backpacks and gas masks.”

Operators with video cameras and the head of the presidential guard, Mikhail Tesovets, entered the hall. He demanded the deputies to leave the premises, but they refused.

“As soon as he left, all the doors to the meeting room of the Supreme Council opened instantly, and a dozen or two people in black sports uniforms, black shoes and masks flew out. They flew, jumped, twisted in the air and shouted: “Kiya!”

Then people in helmets with machine guns entered the hall and stood along the perimeter, Golubev said.

The deputies were beaten, taken out (and some were dragged out) from the building, they drove around in the city, and then they simply let go.

The next day, Lukashenko said that he knew about the current situation and personally ordered the evacuation of deputies from the building “for their safety.” Based on statements from the beaten deputies, the Prosecutor General's Office opened a case, but soon suspended it.

On all issues submitted to the referendum, the president was supported by more than 75% of voters.

Referendum coup

In 1996, a second referendum was held in Belarus, whose opponents called it a constitutional coup.

One of the questions for which Lukashenko suggested voting was as follows:

“Adopt the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus of 1994 with amendments and additions (new edition of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus) proposed by the President of the Republic of Belarus A.G. Lukashenko.”

These changes and additions vested the president, as he himself said, with “royal powers.” Now he could independently, without parliamentary approval, appoint ministers. Could dissolve parliament. Presidential decrees and decrees began to have supreme legal force.

At the referendum 83,7% of those who voted answered this question positively.

In addition, at the referendum, Belarusians were asked to answer questions such as, for example, “Are you in favor of free, without restrictions, purchase and sale of land?” — 82,8% of voters answered “no.” To the question “Are you in favor of having the heads of local executive authorities elected directly by residents of the corresponding administrative-territorial unit?” — there were 69,9% negative answers. 80,4% of Belarusians voted against the abolition of the death penalty.

Pre-election poster of Alexander Lukashenko, 1994 year. Photo: svaboda.org

The Supreme Council and the Constitutional Court opposed the referendum. The latter later agreed to its “recommendatory nature” - that is, he was ready to take into account the results, but not make changes to the Constitution.

“In fact, changes were immediately made to the Constitution. The president became the main one, and the parliament remained, as it were, with him. Moreover, parliament was dissolved just 10 months after his election. There was a change of power under the guise of a referendum,” commented Occurred member of the Constitutional Commission, Doctor of Law Mikhail Pastukhov.

In one of the interviews Alexander Feduta explains why the referendum had signs of a constitutional coup. The “recommendatory status” of the referendum was neglected, and after it was held, the chairman of the Central Election Commission was forcibly replaced. The president did not have the right to do this - the mechanism for the resignation of the head of the Central Election Commission was prescribed in the Constitution. But Viktor Gonchar was simply kicked out of the office, and Lydia Ermoshina took his place. She still works in this position.

How Lukashenka’s former supporters disappeared, who no longer agree with him

Viktor Gonchar is called one of the most prominent Belarusian politicians of that time; stories about him are accompanied by the epithets “intelligent” and “charismatic.” Candidate of Legal Sciences, Deputy of the Supreme Council, Deputy Prime Minister, then Secretary General of the CIS Economic Court, Chairman of the Central Election Commission of Belarus - he was on Lukashenko’s team from the very beginning of his presidential career. It was Gonchar who contributed to lowering the age at which one can hold the position of President of Belarus from 40 to 35. “Are you scared of Sasha?” he convinced members of parliament. Lukashenko was 39 years old at that time.

In 1996, Potter spoke out against the amendment of the Constitution and, as the chairman of the CEC, refused to recognize the results of the referendum. He was removed from office and was not allowed into the CEC building.

Potter, together with 70 deputies, signed the impeachment of the president. But the procedure did not take place: some of the deputies, under pressure, withdrew their signatures. Then the deputies of the Supreme Council 13-th convocation organized an investigative commission to study the violation by the president of the Constitution during the referendum. Potter became the head of the commission.

Late in the evening of September 17, 1999, Victor Gonchar and his friend businessman Anatoly Krasovsky disappeared. What happened to them is still unknown. In the place of their alleged abduction on the asphalt, traces of blood, traces of braking of the car and fragments of broken glass were found.

The authorities soon declared that they had nothing to do with it, and government newspapers began to spread information that Gonchar allegedly staged his abduction and went abroad.

A few months earlier, another former Lukashenko ally disappeared in Minsk - Yury Zakharenko. Like Potter, he was in the team of the future president during the elections, and then became Minister of the Interior. Zakharenko said that he was one of the few surrounded by Lukashenko who told him the truth. In 1996, Major General Zakharenko was removed from his post as minister and lowered in rank to colonel.

After his resignation, he went into opposition and began active work: he was one of the initiators of the Union of Belarusian officers and organizer of the Congress of Democratic Forces.

An interview with Zakharenko was included in Yuri Khaschevatsky’s film “An Ordinary President.” Lukashenko wants to have absolute power and for this he will use methods indiscriminately, was frank his former ally:

“In the presence of Sheiman, I spoke with the president, and he said: “You must carry out my every order.” I tell him: “Alexander Grigorievich, I will not shoot people, I will not violate the Constitution.” - “If you do not comply with any of my orders, you will be handcuffed.” Is this intimidation or not intimidation? This is the leadership style of the president. The weaker ones break. The stronger ones are finished off. And what emerges is an obedient, thoughtless state machine that clicks its heels. This is scary. This is worse than fascism.”

In the evening of May 7, 1999, Yuri Zakharenko walked from the parking lot to his house. There were witnesses who saw two men approach a mustached man and shoved him into a car of dark blue. He managed to shout something, the doors closed. When it became known about the disappearance of General Zakharenko, these people guessed who they shoved into the car that evening and went to the prosecutor's office. In 2000, the family of Yuri Zakharenko received political asylum in Germany.

Criminal cases against disappeared politicians were suspended and resumed many times. At the end of 2018, the Investigative Committee of Belarus once again suspended the preliminary investigation into the disappearance of Gonchar, Krasovsky and Zakharenko, since “the person subject to criminal prosecution has not been identified.”

Relatives of the missing people believe that Gonchar, Krasovsky and Zakharenko were abducted for political reasons, and they suspect that top officials of the country are involved in these abductions.

The people allowed. Third and subsequent terms of President Lukashenko

September 1 2004 entered the history of the tragedy in Beslan. After the release of the hostages, mourning was declared in Russia, and in many European countries school lessons began with a minute of silence. Therefore, when in Minsk 7 of September young people were brought to October Square, many people thought that a mourning rally would take place there, Alexander Feduta recalls. But from a large street screen, the president addressed the crowd on a completely different occasion.

“A tired, pale (makeup did not hide this) face of Alexander Lukashenko appeared on the screen. He spoke: “Dear compatriots!” Everyone fell silent... “In accordance with the current Constitution of our state, I signed the Decree on holding a national referendum,” Feduta writes in the book.

“As I promised you earlier, if I decide to participate in the 2006 presidential elections, I will definitely consult with you and ask for your permission. That's what I do. I did not play out various schemes and combinations, I act honestly and, as always, openly,” sounds from the screen.

The Constitution of Belarus 1994 of the year forbade the same person to be president more than twice. Therefore, Lukashenko, after his victories in 1994 and 2001, had no right to run.

Having “consulted” with the people in this way, the president proposed voting in a new referendum on just one question: “Do you allow the first President of the Republic of Belarus A. G. Lukashenko to participate as a candidate for President of the Republic of Belarus in the presidential elections and do you accept the first part of Article 81 The Constitution of the Republic of Belarus in the following wording: “The President is elected for a term of five years directly by the people of the Republic of Belarus on the basis of universal, free, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot”?”

The assertion that the president cannot be elected for more than two terms has disappeared.

The Election Code of Belarus prohibits the submission of issues related to the election and dismissal of the president to a republican referendum. But on October 17, 2004, the referendum took place - 87,9% of voters “allowed” Alexander Lukashenko to stand as a candidate in the presidential elections an unlimited number of times.

The third election of Lukashenka in 2006 was remembered by the hard crackdown of the opposition. Then, about 30 thousands of people came out to protest against fraud, and tents were set up on the main square of Minsk who disagreed with the voting results. On the fourth day, the protesters brutally dispersed the riot police: excavators demolished the tents (there were about 35), people were thrown into paddy wagons. More than 500 people were arrested, dozens of protesters suffered. President Lukashenko did not appear in public for two weeks, the inauguration was postponed from March 31 to April 8.

Previous events badly damaged the reputation of the Belarusian president: OSCE election observers did not recognize the election results, while the European Union and the United States imposed pinpoint economic sanctions against Belarus. In 2008, it became known that the Belarusian government invited the British agency Bell Pottinger, led by Lord Timothy Bell, to work on improving the country's image and Alexander Lukashenko in the West.

Before Lukashenko, Bell Bashar Assad’s wife, Boris Berezovsky, Augusto Pinochet and his foundation, as well as eBay, Emirates Airline, Airbus, Coca-Cola, addressed the same task to Bell Pottinger. Among the agency’s clients are the governments of Bahrain and Sri Lanka, the royal family of Saudi Arabia.

5 August 2008, Timothy Bell has signed a contract with the government of Belarus. In an interview with foreign media Lord Bell claimedthat he plans to earn “millions” from a contract with the Belarusian government.

Document, developed by for the Belarusian government, Bell’s company did not contain anything extraordinary, although in the case of Lukashenka it still required some effort: building relations with the EU, increasing the country's investment attractiveness, freeing political prisoners (at that time, their Belarusian prisons were 19).

Фото: Depositphotos

The British PR man called President Lukashenko “a very understandable, focused and decisive, very friendly person.” Commenting on the statement of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that “the Belarusian president is the last dictator of Europe,” Bell said that “this is a stupid remark.” “She needs to go to Minsk and see everything for herself,” говорил Timothy Bell aired on the Russian NTV channel and noted that the majority of Belarusians are satisfied with the president.

It is not known whether Bell and his company in Belarus have earned the coveted millions. The source of funding for this advertising campaign also remained secret. According to Timothy Bell, his company received fees solely from the Belarusian government. Belarusian Service of Radio Liberty citing company manager David Wilson Wrote, that PR services for Lukashenko were paid for, “so to speak, by a wealthy benefactor who had key interests in Belarus.”

In August 2009, the cooperation of the Belarusian authorities and the British company Bell Pottinger ceased. It was reported that the head of the Belarusian state himself intends to pursue his image.

"I'm already the lesser evil"

In 2015, the situation in neighboring countries improved the image of Lukashenko: Belarus became a platform for peace talks in the Donbas.

“Let you step over these ambitions, sit down and come to an agreement. Okay, come to Minsk at any level, I’m ready to participate in this, I’m ready to bring you tea myself, pencils, pens, etc.,” Lukashenko exhorted the presidents of Russia and Ukraine. People started talking about Belarus all over the world - and finally in a positive way.

Slowly, Belarusian businessmen and businessmen close to Lukashenko began to lift sanctions. In late March, 2015, in an interview with Bloomberg Lukashenko, ironically noticed: “I am no longer the last dictator of Europe. There are dictators a little worse than me, right? I’m already the lesser evil.”

Фото: Depositphotos

On October 11, 2015, Alexander Lukashenko became the President of Belarus for the fifth time, gaining 83,49% of the votes. He said more than once that he was “fed up with this presidency,” but to leave not going:

“I cannot help but nominate my candidacy for the presidency. ... And I will do this so that you will not later accuse me of cowardice and say that I ran away in difficult times. I will put forward my candidacy, and you elect anyone, you don’t have to vote for me. It will be okay. But if something collapses later, when you chose Petrov and not Lukashenko, I will be calm. And if you reproach me for something, I’ll tell you: you could have voted for me.”