Alexander Lukashenko
Encyclopedia
Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko ' onMouseout='HidePop("49803")' href="/topics/Romanization_of_Belarusian">Romanized
: Alyaksandr Ryhoravich Lukashenka; Taraškievica
orthography: Аляксандар Рыгоравіч Лукашэнка, Lacinka: Aliaksandar Ryhoravič Lukašenka, , ɐlʲɪˈksandr ɡrʲɪˈgorʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ɫʊkɐˈʂɛnkə; Romanized
: Aleksandr Grigoryevich Lukashenko; born 30 or 31 August 1954) has been serving as the President of
Belarus
since 20 July 1994. Before his career as a politician, Lukashenko worked as director of a state-owned agricultural farm. Under Lukashenko's rule, Belarus has come to be viewed as a state whose conduct is out of line with international law
and whose regime is considered to grossly violate human rights
. Belarus has never held a poll seen as fair by international monitors since Lukashenko began his presidency. Belarus has been called "the last true remaining dictatorship
in the heart of Europe" by the former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
. He and other Belarusian officials are also subject of the sanctions imposed by the European Union for egregious human rights violations.
in the Vitebsk voblast of the Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. Trokhym Lukashenko, grandfather of Lukashenko – was born in the Sumy Oblast
of Ukraine. Lukashenko grew up without a father in his childhood, leading him to be taunted by his schoolmates for having an unmarried mother. He graduated from the Mogilev Pedagogical Institute in 1975 and the Belarussian Agricultural Academy in 1985. He served in the Border Guard
(frontier troops) from 1975 to 1977 and in the Soviet Army
from 1980 to 1982. Lukashenko led a Komsomol
chapter in Mogilev from 1977 to 1978. While in the Soviet Army, Lukashenko was an officer of the 120th Motorised Rifle "Guard" Division, which was based in Minsk. After leaving the military he became the deputy chairman of a collective farm in 1982 and in 1985. He was promoted to the post of director of the Gorodets state farm
and construction materials plant in the Shklov district.
In 1990, Lukashenko was elected as a Deputy in the Supreme Council
of the Republic of Belarus. He was the only deputy of the Belarusian parliament who voted against ratification of the December 1991 agreement
that dissolved the Soviet Union
and set up the Commonwealth of Independent States
in its place.
Having acquired a reputation as an eloquent opponent of corruption, Lukashenko was elected in 1993 to serve as the chairman of the anti-corruption committee of the Belarusian parliament. In late 1993 he accused 70 senior government officials, including Stanislav Shushkevich
, of corruption including stealing state funds for personal purposes. The Speaker of Parliament, Shushkevich lost a vote of no-confidence
and resigned. Some believe that the vague nature of the charges indicates they were merely a pretext for removing Shushkevich, who had become increasingly unpopular among the conservative parliamentary majority.
A new Belarusian constitution
enacted in early 1994 paved the way for the first democratic presidential elections in July. Six candidates stood, including Lukashenko, who campaigned as an independent on a populist platform of "defeat[ing] the mafia." Shushkevich and Vyacheslav Kebich also ran, with the latter regarded as the clear favourite. Lukashenko won 45.1% of the vote while Kebich received 17.4%, Zyanon Paznyak received 12.9% and Shushkevich received 9.9%. Lukashenko won the second round of the election on 10 July with 80.1% of the vote. Shortly after his election to the presidency in Belarus, he addressed the State Duma
of the Russian Federation in Moscow
proposing a new Union of Slavic
states, which would culminate in the creation of the Union State
in 1999.
, however, refused to accept the legitimacy of the referendum. By most accounts, the new constitution turned his presidency into a legal dictatorship.
After the referendum, Lukashenko convened a new parliamentary assembly from those members of the parliament who were loyal to him. After 12 deputies withdrew their signature from the impeachment petition, only about 40 deputies of the old parliament were left, but they had no place to convene, since the administration closed the parliament building "for remodeling". Nevertheless, for some time, the EU
and Council of Europe
considered these remnants of the old parliament as the legitimate assembly. At the start of 1998, the Central Bank of Russia suspended trading in the Belarusian ruble
, which led to a collapse in the value of the currency. Lukashenko responded by taking control of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus
, sacking the entire bank leadership and blaming the West for the free fall of the currency.
Lukashenko blamed foreign governments for conspiring against him and, in April 1998, he expelled ambassadors from the Drazdy complex near Minsk
, offering them another building. The Drazdy conflict
caused an international outcry and resulted in a travel ban on Lukashenko from the European Union
and the United States. Although the ambassadors eventually returned after the controversy died down, Lukashenko stepped up his rhetorical attacks against the West. He claimed that Western governments were trying to undermine Belarus at all levels, even sports, during the 1998 Winter Olympics
in Nagano, Japan.
Upon the outbreak of the Kosovo War
in 1999, Lukashenko suggested to Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic
that Yugoslavia join the Union of Russia and Belarus
. Following the Iraq war
of 2003, the United States intelligence agencies issued a report that announced aides of Saddam Hussein
managed to acquire Belarusian passports while in Syria. The same report mentioned that it was unlikely that Belarus would offer a safe haven for Saddam and his two sons. These policies led Western governments to take a tougher position against Lukashenko. The United States was particularly angered by Belarus's arms trade with Iran
and Iraq
, and American political leaders increasingly began to refer to Belarus as "Europe's last dictatorship
". The European Union was concerned for the security of its gas supplies from Russia, which are piped through Belarus, and took an active interest in the country's affairs. As of 2004, the EU and Belarus share a border over 1000 kilometers in length with the accession of Poland
, Latvia
and Lithuania
.
as his opponents. During the campaign, Lukashenko promised to raise the standards of farming, social benefits and increase industrial output of Belarus. Lukashenko won in the first round with 75.65% of the vote. The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said the process "failed to meet international standards", despite not having observed the election, and in spite of the statement by Gerard Stoudmann of the OIDHR (Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights) of the OSCE that there was "no evidence of manipulation or fraud". Russia, by contrast, publicly welcomed Lukashenko's re-election. Then Russian President Vladimir Putin
phoned Lukashenko and offered a message of congratulations and cooperation. Jane's Intelligence surmised that the price of Russian support for Lukashenko ahead of the presidential elections was the surrender of Minsk's control over its section of the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline
. In 2004, a referendum was passed that eliminated presidential term limits, allowing Lukashenko to stand again for office in 2006. Economically, Belarus grew under Lukashenko, but much of this growth was due to Russian oil which was imported at below market prices and then refined before being sold on to Europe.
, gave Lukashenko 84.2% and Milinkevich 3.1%. The Gallup Organisation has noted that EcooM and the Belarusian Republican Youth Union are government-controlled and both released their exit poll results before noon on election day, although voting stations closed at 8 P.M.
Belarus authorities vowed to crush unrest in the event of large-scale protests following the election (such as those that marked the Orange Revolution
in Ukraine). Despite that, the crowd of demonstrators rallying after the election was the biggest the opposition had mustered in years, with nightly protests and demonstrations in Minsk. The turnout at the biggest protest on election night was about 10,000 according to AP
reporters' estimates. Election observers from the Russia-led Commonwealth of Independent States
(CIS) and the UN ad hoc organisation Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) differed on the Belarus vote.
The OSCE declared on 20 March 2006 that the "presidential election failed to meet OSCE commitments for democratic elections." Lukashenko "permitted State authority to be used in a manner which did not allow citizens to freely and fairly express their will at the ballot box... a pattern of intimidation and the suppression of independent voices... was evident throughout the campaign." The heads of all 25 European Union countries declared that the election was "fundamentally flawed", in contrast, the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs declared, "Long before the elections, the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights had declared that they [the elections] would be illegitimate and it was pretty biased in its commentaries on their progress and results, thus playing an instigating role."
Lukashenko later claimed that he had rigged the election results against himself to obtain a majority more typical of western countries. Although the results showed to him gave him 93.5% of the vote, he directed the government to announce a result of 86%. He noted that, despite promises to the contrary, even this had not satisfied his foreign critics. Some Russian nationalists, such as Dmitry Rogozin
and the Movement Against Illegal Immigration
, have stated that they would like to see Lukashenko become President of Russia in 2008. Lukashenko spoke and said he will not run for the Russian presidency; if his health is still good, he might run for reelection in 2011.
. Lukashenko had allowed some opposition candidates to stand, though in the official results, opposition members failed to get a seat out of the available 110. The election was seen as "flawed", and opposition members and supporters demonstrated. According to the Nizhny Novgorod
-based CIS election observation mission, whose findings are often dismissed by the West, the elections in Belarus conformed to international standards. President Lukashenko later commented that the opposition in Belarus is financed by foreign countries and is not needed.
In April 2009, he held talks with Pope Benedict XVI in the Vatican, marking his first visit to Western Europe after a travel ban on him a decade earlier.
on 19 December 2010. Though originally envisaged for 2011 an earlier date was approved 'to ensure the maximum participation of citizens in the electoral campaign and to set most convenient time for the voters'. The run-up to the campaign was marked by a series of Russian media attacks upon the incumbent Alexander Lukashenko. The Central Election Committee said that all nine opposition figures were likely to get less than half the vote total incumbent Lukashenko would get.
Though opposition figures alleged intimidation and "dirty tricks" were being played, the election was seen as comparatively open as a result of desire to improve relations with both Europe at-large and the United States.
On election day, two presidential candidates were seriously beaten by police in different opposition rallies. One opposition candidate and poet Uladzimir Niaklajeu
(Vladimir Neklyaev), sustained a head injury during this beating and was abducted from intensive care by the Belarusian authorities. On the night of the election opposition protesters chanting "Out!," "Long live Belarus!" and other similar slogans attempted to storm the building of the government of Belarus, smashing windows and doors before riot police were able to push them back. The number of protesters was reported by major news media as being around or above 10,000 people. Hundreds of people who protested against the election result have been arrested, including at least seven presidential candidates. The CEC said that Lukashenko won 79.65% of the vote (5,130,557 total votes he gained) with 90.65% of the electorate voting. The OSCE categorized the elections as "flawed" while the CIS
mission observers praised them as "free and transparent". Several European foreign ministers also commented on the election results and the protests surrounding the results as an "unfortunate step backwards in the development of democratic governance and respect for human rights in Belarus." However, the OSCE noted that some improvements were made in the run-up to the election, including the candidates use of television debates and the ability to deliver their messages unhindered.
Lukashenko's inauguration ceremony of 22 January 2011 was boycotted by European Union
ambassadors, while fellow CIS countries did send officials not higher than ambassadors. During this ceremony Lukashenko defended the legitimacy of his re-election and vowed that Belarus would never have its own version of the 2004 Ukrainian
Orange Revolution
and Georgia
's 2003 Rose Revolution
.
Effective January 31, 2011, the European Union renewed a travel ban, prohibiting Lukashenko and 156 of his associates from traveling to EU member countries, as a result of violent crackdowns of opposition supporters by Lukashenko's government forces following the election.
"). He was elected chairman of the Belarusian Olympic Committee in 1997. During a televised address to the nation on 7 September 2004 Lukashenko announced plans for a referendum on whether to eliminate presidential term limits. This was held on 17 October 2004, the same day as parliamentary elections, and, according to official results, was approved by 79.42% of voters. Previously, Lukashenko had been limited to two terms and thus would have been constitutionally required to step down after the presidential elections in 2006. Opposition groups, the OSCE
, the European Union
, and the United States State Department have stated that the vote "fell significantly short of international standards." An example of the failure, cited by the OSCE, was the pre-marking of ballots.
At the outset, Lukashenko wanted to rebuild Belarus when he took office. The economy was in a free fall, due to declining industry and lack of demand for Belarusian goods. Lukashenko kept many industries under the control of the government and privatization was slowed down. Since 2001, Lukashenko wanted to improve the social welfare of his citizens and to make Belarus "powerful and prosperous". In response to a question about Belarus's domestic policies, President Hugo Chávez
of Venezuela
said "We see here a model social state like the one we are beginning to create."
Some critics of Lukashenko use the term Lukashism to refer to the political
and economic system
Lukashenko has implemented in Belarus
. The term is also used more broadly to refer to an authoritarian political ideology based on a cult of his personality
and nostalgia
for Soviet times among certain groups in Belarus. It is not known where the term was first used, though the earliest documented use was in 1998. The use was in the context of opening a museum to memorialize victims of Communism with a wing dedicated to Lukashism.
The term has been used mostly by groups who oppose Lukashenko, such as Zubr
.
Lukashenko continues to face domestic opposition from a coalition of opposition groups supported by the United States and Europe. The United States Congress
has sought to aid the opposition groups by passing the Belarus Democracy Act of 2004
to introduce sanctions against Lukashenko's government and provide financial and other support to the opposition.
Those who support Lukashenko claim that his rule has spared Belarus the turmoil that has beset many other Soviet countries.
Lukashenko himself commented about the criticism on him by saying: "I've been hearing these accusations for over 10 years and we got used to it." Before the polling he said: "We are not going to answer them. I want to come from the premise that the elections in Belarus are held for ourselves. I am sure that it is the Belarus people who are the masters in our state." He warned that anyone joining an opposition protest would be treated as a "terrorist", adding: "We will wring their necks, as one might a duck".
and Abkhazia
, which had been recognized two months previous. These were renewed six months later (in 2009) and are due to expire at the end of 2009. On 16 September 2009, Lukashenko entered the EU for the second time since the temporary suspension of sanctions, to visit a Belarusian trade fair in Vilnius, Lithuania. The date coincided with the tenth anniversary of the disappearance and presumed murder of the leader of the Belarusian opposition, Viktar Hanchar
(Viktor Gonchar, using the Russian spelling).
Since the EU adopted this policy of ‘change through engagement’, it has supported the provision of International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans to help stabilize the Belarusian economy.
Supporters of the policy of ‘change through engagement’ put forward a range of arguments. Firstly, the EU’s old policy of isolating Belarus had failed to produce results. Secondly, engagement offers some prospect of change, though no assurance of change. Thirdly, it provides opportunities to engage in a dialogue in private and to press in public for change. Fourthly, engagement may influence people in Lukashenko’s entourage, by exposing them to the European system and by showing that ‘European values’ are real, not merely a concept or a term to disguise a political agenda.
Recently, Lukashenko's relationship with Russia, once his powerful ally and vocal supporter, significantly deteriorated. The run-up to the Belarusian presidential election, 2010 was marked by a series of Russian media attacks upon the incumbent Alexander Lukashenko. State-controlled NTV television broadcast throughout July a multi-part documentary entitled 'The Godfather' highlighting the suspicious disappearance of a number of opposition leaders during the late 1990s, as well as highlighting a statement Lukashenko had made seemingly praising Adolf Hitler
. Lukashenko referred to the media attack as 'dirty propaganda'.
: "The history of Germany is a copy of the history of Belarus. Germany was raised from ruins thanks to firm authority and not everything connected with that well-known figure Hitler was bad. German order evolved over the centuries and attained its peak under Hitler." However, this allegation was originally made by the Russian television channel NTV, on the basis of an interview which Lukashenko gave to the German newspaper "Handelsblatt", in which Hitler was not even mentioned. The original interviewer, Dr. Markus Zeiner, said "a tape of the interview had been quoted out of context and with the sequence of comments altered by the Russian media."
In October 2007 Lukashenko was accused of making blatant anti-Semitic and anti-Israel comments. Addressing the "miserable state of the city of Babruysk
" on a live broadcast on state radio he stated: "This is a Jewish city, and the Jews are not concerned for the place they live in. They have turned Babruysk into a pigsty. Look at Israel—I was there and saw it myself ... I call on Jews who have money to come back to Babruysk." Members of the United States House of Representatives
sent a letter to the Belarusian ambassador to the United States, Mikhail Khvostov, addressing Lukashenko's comments with a strong request to retract them. The comments also caused a reaction from Israel. Consequently, Pavel Yakubovich, editor of Belarus Today, was sent to Israel, and in a meeting with the Israel Foreign Ministry
said that Lukashenko’s comments were "a mistake that was said jokingly, and does not represent his positions regarding the Jewish people" and that he was "anything but anti-Semitic," and "insulted by the mere accusation." Belarus Ambassador to Israel, Igor Leshchenya, stated that the president had a "kind attitude toward the Jewish people." Sergei Rychenko, the press secretary at the Belarus Embassy in Tel Aviv, said parts of Lukashenko's comments were mistranslated. In fact, two Belarus newspapers— (Our Wheatfield) and (People's Will)—were shut down in 2006, after ignoring several warnings, for publishing allegedly anti-Semitic and racist articles.
, his high school sweetheart, in 1975. Later that year his oldest son, Viktor, was born. Their second son, Dmitry, was born in 1980. Galina lives separately in the family's house in the village near Shklov. Though they are still legally married, Galina Lukashenko has been estranged from her husband since shortly after he became president. There is no mentioning of Galina in the biography of Alexander Lukashenko published on the official presidential website.
Lukashenko fathered an illegitimate son, Nikolay, who was born in 2004. Though never confirmed officially, it is widely believed that the child's mother is Irina Abelskaya – the two had have an affair when she was the personal doctor of Lukashenko.
Romanization of Belarusian
Romanization or Latinization of Belarusian is any system for transliterating written Belarusian from the Cyrillic alphabet to the Latin.Some of the standard systems for romanizing Belarusian:...
: Alyaksandr Ryhoravich Lukashenka; Taraškievica
Taraškievica
Taraškievica or Belarusian Classical Orthography is a variant of the orthography of the Belarusian language, based on the literary norm of the modern Belarusian language, the first normalization of which was made by Branisłaŭ Taraškievič in 1918, and was in official use in Belarus until the...
orthography: Аляксандар Рыгоравіч Лукашэнка, Lacinka: Aliaksandar Ryhoravič Lukašenka, , ɐlʲɪˈksandr ɡrʲɪˈgorʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ɫʊkɐˈʂɛnkə; Romanized
Romanization of Russian
Romanization of the Russian alphabet is the process of transliterating the Russian language from the Cyrillic alphabet into the Latin alphabet...
: Aleksandr Grigoryevich Lukashenko; born 30 or 31 August 1954) has been serving as the President of
President of Belarus
The office of President of Belarus is the head of state of Belarus. The office was created in 1994 with the passing of the Constitution of Belarus by the Supreme Soviet. This replaced the office of Chairman of the Supreme Soviet as the head of state...
Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
since 20 July 1994. Before his career as a politician, Lukashenko worked as director of a state-owned agricultural farm. Under Lukashenko's rule, Belarus has come to be viewed as a state whose conduct is out of line with international law
International law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
and whose regime is considered to grossly violate human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
. Belarus has never held a poll seen as fair by international monitors since Lukashenko began his presidency. Belarus has been called "the last true remaining dictatorship
Dictatorship
A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:...
in the heart of Europe" by the former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice is an American political scientist and diplomat. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, and was the second person to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush...
. He and other Belarusian officials are also subject of the sanctions imposed by the European Union for egregious human rights violations.
Early life and career (1954–1994)
Lukashenko was born on 30 or 31 August 1954 in the settlement of KopysKopys
Kopys is an urban-type settlement in Vitsebsk Voblast, Belarus. First references are dated by 1059It is the birthplace of the current leader of the country, Alexander Lukashenko....
in the Vitebsk voblast of the Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. Trokhym Lukashenko, grandfather of Lukashenko – was born in the Sumy Oblast
Sumy Oblast
Sumy Oblast is an oblast in the northeastern part of Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Sumy.Other important cities within the oblast include Konotop, Okhtyrka, Romny, and Shostka....
of Ukraine. Lukashenko grew up without a father in his childhood, leading him to be taunted by his schoolmates for having an unmarried mother. He graduated from the Mogilev Pedagogical Institute in 1975 and the Belarussian Agricultural Academy in 1985. He served in the Border Guard
USSR Border Troops
Soviet Border Troops, were the militarized border guard of the Soviet Union, subordinated to its subsequently reorganized state security agency: first to Cheka/OGPU, then to NKVD/MGB and, finally, to KGB...
(frontier troops) from 1975 to 1977 and in the Soviet Army
Soviet Army
The Soviet Army is the name given to the main part of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union between 1946 and 1992. Previously, it had been known as the Red Army. Informally, Армия referred to all the MOD armed forces, except, in some cases, the Soviet Navy.This article covers the Soviet Ground...
from 1980 to 1982. Lukashenko led a Komsomol
Komsomol
The Communist Union of Youth , usually known as Komsomol , was the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The Komsomol in its earliest form was established in urban centers in 1918. During the early years, it was a Russian organization, known as the Russian Communist Union of...
chapter in Mogilev from 1977 to 1978. While in the Soviet Army, Lukashenko was an officer of the 120th Motorised Rifle "Guard" Division, which was based in Minsk. After leaving the military he became the deputy chairman of a collective farm in 1982 and in 1985. He was promoted to the post of director of the Gorodets state farm
Sovkhoz
A sovkhoz , typically translated as state farm, is a state-owned farm. The term originated in the Soviet Union, hence the name. The term is still in use in some post-Soviet states, e.g., Russia and Belarus. It is usually contrasted with kolkhoz, which is a collective-owned farm...
and construction materials plant in the Shklov district.
In 1990, Lukashenko was elected as a Deputy in the Supreme Council
Supreme Council
Supreme Council may refer to:In culture:* Supreme Council of Antiquities, part of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture* Supreme Council of Ethnikoi Hellenes, an umbrella organisation in Greece established in 1997In Freemasonry:...
of the Republic of Belarus. He was the only deputy of the Belarusian parliament who voted against ratification of the December 1991 agreement
Belavezha Accords
The Belavezha Accords is the agreement which declared the Soviet Union effectively dissolved and established the Commonwealth of Independent States in its place...
that dissolved the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and set up the Commonwealth of Independent States
Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional organization whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union....
in its place.
Having acquired a reputation as an eloquent opponent of corruption, Lukashenko was elected in 1993 to serve as the chairman of the anti-corruption committee of the Belarusian parliament. In late 1993 he accused 70 senior government officials, including Stanislav Shushkevich
Stanislav Shushkevich
Stanislau Stanislavavich Shushkevich is a Belarusian politician and scientist. From September 28, 1991 to January 26, 1994 he was the first leader and head of state of independent Belarus after the dissolution of the Soviet Union...
, of corruption including stealing state funds for personal purposes. The Speaker of Parliament, Shushkevich lost a vote of no-confidence
Motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence is a parliamentary motion whose passing would demonstrate to the head of state that the elected parliament no longer has confidence in the appointed government.-Overview:Typically, when a parliament passes a vote of no...
and resigned. Some believe that the vague nature of the charges indicates they were merely a pretext for removing Shushkevich, who had become increasingly unpopular among the conservative parliamentary majority.
A new Belarusian constitution
Constitution of Belarus
The Constitution of the Republic of Belarus is the ultimate law of Belarus. Adopted in 1994, three years after the country declared its independence from the Soviet Union, this formal document establishes the framework of the Belarusian state and government and enumerates the rights and freedoms...
enacted in early 1994 paved the way for the first democratic presidential elections in July. Six candidates stood, including Lukashenko, who campaigned as an independent on a populist platform of "defeat[ing] the mafia." Shushkevich and Vyacheslav Kebich also ran, with the latter regarded as the clear favourite. Lukashenko won 45.1% of the vote while Kebich received 17.4%, Zyanon Paznyak received 12.9% and Shushkevich received 9.9%. Lukashenko won the second round of the election on 10 July with 80.1% of the vote. Shortly after his election to the presidency in Belarus, he addressed the State Duma
State Duma
The State Duma , common abbreviation: Госду́ма ) in the Russian Federation is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia , the upper house being the Federation Council of Russia. The Duma headquarters is located in central Moscow, a few steps from Manege Square. Its members are referred to...
of the Russian Federation in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
proposing a new Union of Slavic
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
states, which would culminate in the creation of the Union State
Union of Russia and Belarus
The Union State , semi-officially known as Union State of Russia and Belarus , is a supranational entity consisting of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus.- Creation :...
in 1999.
First term (1994–2001)
In May 1995, one of the first votes under Lukashenko occurred. Not only were the national symbols of the country changed, but Lukashenko was also given the ability to disband the Supreme Soviet by decree. In the summer of 1996, 70 deputies of the 199-member Belarusian parliament signed a petition to impeach Lukashenko on charges of violating the Constitution. Shortly after that a referendum was held on 24 November 1996 in which four questions were offered by Lukashenko and three offered by a group of Parliament members. The measures passed, but faced international and internal condemnation. On 25 November, it was announced that 70.5% of voters, on an 84% turnout, had approved an amended constitution that greatly increased Lukashenko's power. The United States and the European UnionEuropean Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, however, refused to accept the legitimacy of the referendum. By most accounts, the new constitution turned his presidency into a legal dictatorship.
After the referendum, Lukashenko convened a new parliamentary assembly from those members of the parliament who were loyal to him. After 12 deputies withdrew their signature from the impeachment petition, only about 40 deputies of the old parliament were left, but they had no place to convene, since the administration closed the parliament building "for remodeling". Nevertheless, for some time, the EU
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
and Council of Europe
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
considered these remnants of the old parliament as the legitimate assembly. At the start of 1998, the Central Bank of Russia suspended trading in the Belarusian ruble
Belarusian ruble
The ruble is the currency of Belarus. The symbol for the ruble is Br and the ISO 4217 code is BYR.-First ruble, 1992–2000:The breakup of supply chain in the former Soviet enterprises demanded that goods be bought and sold on the market, often requiring cash settlement...
, which led to a collapse in the value of the currency. Lukashenko responded by taking control of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus
National Bank of the Republic of Belarus
The National Bank of the Republic of Belarus is the central bank of Belarus, located in the capital city, Minsk. The bank was created in 1922 under the name of "Belarusian Republican Bank" by the Soviet of People's Commissars of Beylorussia, but soon worked under the direction of the State Bank of...
, sacking the entire bank leadership and blaming the West for the free fall of the currency.
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
, offering them another building. The Drazdy conflict
Drazdy conflict
The Drazdy conflict was an incident in July 1998 involving the Government of Belarus and diplomats from other nations. It began by the leader of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko declaring the Drazdy Complex as property of the government and shutting it down for repairs...
caused an international outcry and resulted in a travel ban on Lukashenko from the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
and the United States. Although the ambassadors eventually returned after the controversy died down, Lukashenko stepped up his rhetorical attacks against the West. He claimed that Western governments were trying to undermine Belarus at all levels, even sports, during the 1998 Winter Olympics
1998 Winter Olympics
The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 7 to 22 February 1998 in Nagano, Japan. Seventy-two nations and 2,176 participans contested in seven sports and 72 events at 15 venues. The games saw the introduction of Women's ice...
in Nagano, Japan.
Upon the outbreak of the Kosovo War
Kosovo War
The term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
in 1999, Lukashenko suggested to Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000...
that Yugoslavia join the Union of Russia and Belarus
Union of Russia and Belarus
The Union State , semi-officially known as Union State of Russia and Belarus , is a supranational entity consisting of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus.- Creation :...
. Following the Iraq war
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
of 2003, the United States intelligence agencies issued a report that announced aides of Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
managed to acquire Belarusian passports while in Syria. The same report mentioned that it was unlikely that Belarus would offer a safe haven for Saddam and his two sons. These policies led Western governments to take a tougher position against Lukashenko. The United States was particularly angered by Belarus's arms trade with Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, and American political leaders increasingly began to refer to Belarus as "Europe's last dictatorship
Dictatorship
A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:...
". The European Union was concerned for the security of its gas supplies from Russia, which are piped through Belarus, and took an active interest in the country's affairs. As of 2004, the EU and Belarus share a border over 1000 kilometers in length with the accession of Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
and Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
.
Second term (2001–2006)
Elections were held on 9 September 2001 with Vladimir Goncharik and Sergei GaidukevichSergei Gaidukevich
Sergei Gaidukevich was the Liberal Democratic Party candidate in the 2006 elections for the office of President of Belarus, as well as in 2001 elections....
as his opponents. During the campaign, Lukashenko promised to raise the standards of farming, social benefits and increase industrial output of Belarus. Lukashenko won in the first round with 75.65% of the vote. The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said the process "failed to meet international standards", despite not having observed the election, and in spite of the statement by Gerard Stoudmann of the OIDHR (Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights) of the OSCE that there was "no evidence of manipulation or fraud". Russia, by contrast, publicly welcomed Lukashenko's re-election. Then Russian President Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
phoned Lukashenko and offered a message of congratulations and cooperation. Jane's Intelligence surmised that the price of Russian support for Lukashenko ahead of the presidential elections was the surrender of Minsk's control over its section of the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline
Yamal-Europe pipeline
The Yamal–Europe natural gas pipeline is a long pipeline connecting natural gas fields in Western Siberia and in the future on the Yamal peninsula, Russia, with Germany.-History:...
. In 2004, a referendum was passed that eliminated presidential term limits, allowing Lukashenko to stand again for office in 2006. Economically, Belarus grew under Lukashenko, but much of this growth was due to Russian oil which was imported at below market prices and then refined before being sold on to Europe.
2006 presidential election
After Lukashenko confirmed he was running for re-election in 2005, opposition groups began to seek a single candidate. On 16 October 2005, on the Day of Solidarity With Belarus, the political groups Zubr and Third Way Belarus encouraged all of the opposition parties to rally behind one candidate to oppose Lukashenko in the 2006 election. Their chosen candidate was Alexander Milinkevich, who was running against Lukashenko and other candidates. Lukashenko reacted by saying that anyone going to opposition protests would have their necks wrung "as one might a duck". The election was predicted at the time by the UK Shadow Foreign Minister William Hague with an opinion that "Mr. Lukashenko orchestrated illegitimate and undemocratic parliamentary elections to extend his power and control over the people". On 19 March 2006 exit polls showed Lukashenko winning a third term in a landslide, amid opposition claims of vote-rigging and fear of violence. The EcooM organisation gave Lukashenko 84.2% of the vote and Milinkevich just 2%, while the Belarusian Republican Youth UnionBelarusian Republican Youth Union
The Belarusian Republican Youth Union , , transliteration: Belorusskij respublikanskij sojuz molodeži ) is a youth organization in Belarus. Its goals are to promote patriotism and to instill moral values into the youth of Belarus, using activities such as camping, sporting events and visiting...
, gave Lukashenko 84.2% and Milinkevich 3.1%. The Gallup Organisation has noted that EcooM and the Belarusian Republican Youth Union are government-controlled and both released their exit poll results before noon on election day, although voting stations closed at 8 P.M.
Belarus authorities vowed to crush unrest in the event of large-scale protests following the election (such as those that marked the Orange Revolution
Orange Revolution
The Orange Revolution was a series of protests and political events that took place in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005, in the immediate aftermath of the run-off vote of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election which was claimed to be marred by massive corruption, voter...
in Ukraine). Despite that, the crowd of demonstrators rallying after the election was the biggest the opposition had mustered in years, with nightly protests and demonstrations in Minsk. The turnout at the biggest protest on election night was about 10,000 according to AP
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
reporters' estimates. Election observers from the Russia-led Commonwealth of Independent States
Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional organization whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union....
(CIS) and the UN ad hoc organisation Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) differed on the Belarus vote.
The OSCE declared on 20 March 2006 that the "presidential election failed to meet OSCE commitments for democratic elections." Lukashenko "permitted State authority to be used in a manner which did not allow citizens to freely and fairly express their will at the ballot box... a pattern of intimidation and the suppression of independent voices... was evident throughout the campaign." The heads of all 25 European Union countries declared that the election was "fundamentally flawed", in contrast, the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs declared, "Long before the elections, the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights had declared that they [the elections] would be illegitimate and it was pretty biased in its commentaries on their progress and results, thus playing an instigating role."
Lukashenko later claimed that he had rigged the election results against himself to obtain a majority more typical of western countries. Although the results showed to him gave him 93.5% of the vote, he directed the government to announce a result of 86%. He noted that, despite promises to the contrary, even this had not satisfied his foreign critics. Some Russian nationalists, such as Dmitry Rogozin
Dmitry Rogozin
Dmitry Olegovich Rogozin is a well-known Russian diplomat and popular politician, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia. In January, 2008, he became Russia's ambassador to NATO. He was a leader of the Rodina party until it merged with other similar Russian parties to form the...
and the Movement Against Illegal Immigration
Movement Against Illegal Immigration
The Movement Against Illegal Immigration is a Russian nationalist and anti-Illegal immigration organization. The organization is led by Aleksandr Belov a former member of ultra-nationalist Pamyat...
, have stated that they would like to see Lukashenko become President of Russia in 2008. Lukashenko spoke and said he will not run for the Russian presidency; if his health is still good, he might run for reelection in 2011.
Third term (2006-2011)
In September 2008, parliamentary elections were heldBelarusian parliamentary election, 2008
The Belarusian parliamentary election, 2008 was held in Belarus on 28 September 2008. The 110 seats in the House of Representatives were at stake....
. Lukashenko had allowed some opposition candidates to stand, though in the official results, opposition members failed to get a seat out of the available 110. The election was seen as "flawed", and opposition members and supporters demonstrated. According to the Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod , colloquially shortened to Nizhny, is, with the population of 1,250,615, the fifth largest city in Russia, ranking after Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, and Yekaterinburg...
-based CIS election observation mission, whose findings are often dismissed by the West, the elections in Belarus conformed to international standards. President Lukashenko later commented that the opposition in Belarus is financed by foreign countries and is not needed.
In April 2009, he held talks with Pope Benedict XVI in the Vatican, marking his first visit to Western Europe after a travel ban on him a decade earlier.
2010 presidential election
Lukashenko was one of ten candidates registered for the presidential election held in BelarusBelarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
on 19 December 2010. Though originally envisaged for 2011 an earlier date was approved 'to ensure the maximum participation of citizens in the electoral campaign and to set most convenient time for the voters'. The run-up to the campaign was marked by a series of Russian media attacks upon the incumbent Alexander Lukashenko. The Central Election Committee said that all nine opposition figures were likely to get less than half the vote total incumbent Lukashenko would get.
Though opposition figures alleged intimidation and "dirty tricks" were being played, the election was seen as comparatively open as a result of desire to improve relations with both Europe at-large and the United States.
On election day, two presidential candidates were seriously beaten by police in different opposition rallies. One opposition candidate and poet Uladzimir Niaklajeu
Uladzimir Niaklajeu
Vladimir Niaklajeu ' born on July 11, 1946 in Smarhon) is a Belarusian poet and writer, and a head of the public campaign Tell the Truth!...
(Vladimir Neklyaev), sustained a head injury during this beating and was abducted from intensive care by the Belarusian authorities. On the night of the election opposition protesters chanting "Out!," "Long live Belarus!" and other similar slogans attempted to storm the building of the government of Belarus, smashing windows and doors before riot police were able to push them back. The number of protesters was reported by major news media as being around or above 10,000 people. Hundreds of people who protested against the election result have been arrested, including at least seven presidential candidates. The CEC said that Lukashenko won 79.65% of the vote (5,130,557 total votes he gained) with 90.65% of the electorate voting. The OSCE categorized the elections as "flawed" while the CIS
CIS
CIS usually refers to the Commonwealth of Independent States, a modern political entity consisting of eleven former Soviet Union republics.The acronym CIS may also refer to:-Organizations:...
mission observers praised them as "free and transparent". Several European foreign ministers also commented on the election results and the protests surrounding the results as an "unfortunate step backwards in the development of democratic governance and respect for human rights in Belarus." However, the OSCE noted that some improvements were made in the run-up to the election, including the candidates use of television debates and the ability to deliver their messages unhindered.
Lukashenko's inauguration ceremony of 22 January 2011 was boycotted by European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
ambassadors, while fellow CIS countries did send officials not higher than ambassadors. During this ceremony Lukashenko defended the legitimacy of his re-election and vowed that Belarus would never have its own version of the 2004 Ukrainian
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
Orange Revolution
Orange Revolution
The Orange Revolution was a series of protests and political events that took place in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005, in the immediate aftermath of the run-off vote of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election which was claimed to be marred by massive corruption, voter...
and Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
's 2003 Rose Revolution
Rose Revolution
The "Revolution of Roses" was a change of power in Georgia in November 2003, which took place after having widespread protests over the disputed parliamentary elections...
.
Effective January 31, 2011, the European Union renewed a travel ban, prohibiting Lukashenko and 156 of his associates from traveling to EU member countries, as a result of violent crackdowns of opposition supporters by Lukashenko's government forces following the election.
Domestic policy
Lukashenko promotes himself as a "man of the people." Due to his style of rule, he is often informally referred to as бацька (bats'ka, "daddyDaddy
Daddy is an affectionate, familiar term, form of direct address, or nickname for a father.Daddy may also refer to:-Literature:*Daddy , a novel by Danielle Steel*Daddy , a novel by Loup Durand...
"). He was elected chairman of the Belarusian Olympic Committee in 1997. During a televised address to the nation on 7 September 2004 Lukashenko announced plans for a referendum on whether to eliminate presidential term limits. This was held on 17 October 2004, the same day as parliamentary elections, and, according to official results, was approved by 79.42% of voters. Previously, Lukashenko had been limited to two terms and thus would have been constitutionally required to step down after the presidential elections in 2006. Opposition groups, the OSCE
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, human rights, freedom of the press and fair elections...
, the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, and the United States State Department have stated that the vote "fell significantly short of international standards." An example of the failure, cited by the OSCE, was the pre-marking of ballots.
At the outset, Lukashenko wanted to rebuild Belarus when he took office. The economy was in a free fall, due to declining industry and lack of demand for Belarusian goods. Lukashenko kept many industries under the control of the government and privatization was slowed down. Since 2001, Lukashenko wanted to improve the social welfare of his citizens and to make Belarus "powerful and prosperous". In response to a question about Belarus's domestic policies, President Hugo Chávez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
of Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
said "We see here a model social state like the one we are beginning to create."
Some critics of Lukashenko use the term Lukashism to refer to the political
Political system
A political system is a system of politics and government. It is usually compared to the legal system, economic system, cultural system, and other social systems...
and economic system
Economic system
An economic system is the combination of the various agencies, entities that provide the economic structure that defines the social community. These agencies are joined by lines of trade and exchange along which goods, money etc. are continuously flowing. An example of such a system for a closed...
Lukashenko has implemented in Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
. The term is also used more broadly to refer to an authoritarian political ideology based on a cult of his personality
Cult of personality
A cult of personality arises when an individual uses mass media, propaganda, or other methods, to create an idealized and heroic public image, often through unquestioning flattery and praise. Cults of personality are usually associated with dictatorships...
and nostalgia
Nostalgia
The term nostalgia describes a yearning for the past, often in idealized form.The word is a learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of , meaning "returning home", a Homeric word, and , meaning "pain, ache"...
for Soviet times among certain groups in Belarus. It is not known where the term was first used, though the earliest documented use was in 1998. The use was in the context of opening a museum to memorialize victims of Communism with a wing dedicated to Lukashism.
The term has been used mostly by groups who oppose Lukashenko, such as Zubr
Zubr (political organization)
Zubr was a civic youth organization in Belarus backed by the United States and western powers in opposition to President Alyaksandr Lukashenka. The organization drew inspiration from Otpor student movement which contributed to the overthrow of Slobodan Milošević in 2000, and from Gene Sharp's...
.
Lukashenko continues to face domestic opposition from a coalition of opposition groups supported by the United States and Europe. The United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
has sought to aid the opposition groups by passing the Belarus Democracy Act of 2004
Belarus Democracy Act of 2004
The Belarus Democracy Act of 2004 is a United States federal law that authorizes assistance for political parties, non-governmental organizations, and independent media working for democracy and human rights in Belarus. The act was signed by President George W. Bush and passed unanimously by the U.S...
to introduce sanctions against Lukashenko's government and provide financial and other support to the opposition.
Those who support Lukashenko claim that his rule has spared Belarus the turmoil that has beset many other Soviet countries.
Lukashenko himself commented about the criticism on him by saying: "I've been hearing these accusations for over 10 years and we got used to it." Before the polling he said: "We are not going to answer them. I want to come from the premise that the elections in Belarus are held for ourselves. I am sure that it is the Belarus people who are the masters in our state." He warned that anyone joining an opposition protest would be treated as a "terrorist", adding: "We will wring their necks, as one might a duck".
Foreign policy
Lukashenko’s relationship with the EU has been strained, in part by choice and in part by his policies towards domestic opponents. Lukashenko’s repression of opponents have earned him the moniker "Europe’s last dictator" and resulted in the EU imposing visa sanctions on him and a range of Belarusian officials. However, in a shift of policy in October 2008, the EU decided temporarily to lift visa sanctions, mainly to help persuade Belarus not to recognize the independence of Georgian breakaway regions South OssetiaSouth Ossetia
South Ossetia or Tskhinvali Region is a disputed region and partly recognized state in the South Caucasus, located in the territory of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the former Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic....
and Abkhazia
Abkhazia
Abkhazia is a disputed political entity on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus.Abkhazia considers itself an independent state, called the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny...
, which had been recognized two months previous. These were renewed six months later (in 2009) and are due to expire at the end of 2009. On 16 September 2009, Lukashenko entered the EU for the second time since the temporary suspension of sanctions, to visit a Belarusian trade fair in Vilnius, Lithuania. The date coincided with the tenth anniversary of the disappearance and presumed murder of the leader of the Belarusian opposition, Viktar Hanchar
Viktar Hanchar
Viktar Hanchar was a Belarusian politician who disappeared and was presumably killed in 1999.Hanchar graduated from the Belarusian State University Law faculty in 1979 and worked as law research worker at different major Belarusian institutions....
(Viktor Gonchar, using the Russian spelling).
Since the EU adopted this policy of ‘change through engagement’, it has supported the provision of International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans to help stabilize the Belarusian economy.
Supporters of the policy of ‘change through engagement’ put forward a range of arguments. Firstly, the EU’s old policy of isolating Belarus had failed to produce results. Secondly, engagement offers some prospect of change, though no assurance of change. Thirdly, it provides opportunities to engage in a dialogue in private and to press in public for change. Fourthly, engagement may influence people in Lukashenko’s entourage, by exposing them to the European system and by showing that ‘European values’ are real, not merely a concept or a term to disguise a political agenda.
Recently, Lukashenko's relationship with Russia, once his powerful ally and vocal supporter, significantly deteriorated. The run-up to the Belarusian presidential election, 2010 was marked by a series of Russian media attacks upon the incumbent Alexander Lukashenko. State-controlled NTV television broadcast throughout July a multi-part documentary entitled 'The Godfather' highlighting the suspicious disappearance of a number of opposition leaders during the late 1990s, as well as highlighting a statement Lukashenko had made seemingly praising Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
. Lukashenko referred to the media attack as 'dirty propaganda'.
Controversial statements
Lukashenko has been noted for making controversial statements. He has been accused of making a remark in 1995 which praised Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
: "The history of Germany is a copy of the history of Belarus. Germany was raised from ruins thanks to firm authority and not everything connected with that well-known figure Hitler was bad. German order evolved over the centuries and attained its peak under Hitler." However, this allegation was originally made by the Russian television channel NTV, on the basis of an interview which Lukashenko gave to the German newspaper "Handelsblatt", in which Hitler was not even mentioned. The original interviewer, Dr. Markus Zeiner, said "a tape of the interview had been quoted out of context and with the sequence of comments altered by the Russian media."
In October 2007 Lukashenko was accused of making blatant anti-Semitic and anti-Israel comments. Addressing the "miserable state of the city of Babruysk
Babruysk
Babruysk or Bobruysk is a city in the Mahilyow Voblast of Belarus on the Berezina river. It is a large city in Belarus with a population of approximately 227,000 people . The name Babruysk probably originates from the Belarusian word babyor , many of which used to inhabit the Berezina...
" on a live broadcast on state radio he stated: "This is a Jewish city, and the Jews are not concerned for the place they live in. They have turned Babruysk into a pigsty. Look at Israel—I was there and saw it myself ... I call on Jews who have money to come back to Babruysk." Members of the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
sent a letter to the Belarusian ambassador to the United States, Mikhail Khvostov, addressing Lukashenko's comments with a strong request to retract them. The comments also caused a reaction from Israel. Consequently, Pavel Yakubovich, editor of Belarus Today, was sent to Israel, and in a meeting with the Israel Foreign Ministry
Foreign Affairs Minister of Israel
The Foreign Affairs Minister of Israel is the political head of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The position is one of the most important in the Israeli cabinet after Prime Minister and Defense Minister...
said that Lukashenko’s comments were "a mistake that was said jokingly, and does not represent his positions regarding the Jewish people" and that he was "anything but anti-Semitic," and "insulted by the mere accusation." Belarus Ambassador to Israel, Igor Leshchenya, stated that the president had a "kind attitude toward the Jewish people." Sergei Rychenko, the press secretary at the Belarus Embassy in Tel Aviv, said parts of Lukashenko's comments were mistranslated. In fact, two Belarus newspapers— (Our Wheatfield) and (People's Will)—were shut down in 2006, after ignoring several warnings, for publishing allegedly anti-Semitic and racist articles.
Personal life
Lukashenko married Galina ZhelnerovichGalina Lukashenko
Galina Rodionovna Lukashenko , née Zhelnerovich , is the First Lady of the current Belarussian President, Alexander Lukashenko.- External links :...
, his high school sweetheart, in 1975. Later that year his oldest son, Viktor, was born. Their second son, Dmitry, was born in 1980. Galina lives separately in the family's house in the village near Shklov. Though they are still legally married, Galina Lukashenko has been estranged from her husband since shortly after he became president. There is no mentioning of Galina in the biography of Alexander Lukashenko published on the official presidential website.
Lukashenko fathered an illegitimate son, Nikolay, who was born in 2004. Though never confirmed officially, it is widely believed that the child's mother is Irina Abelskaya – the two had have an affair when she was the personal doctor of Lukashenko.
Orders and honors
- The José Martí Order (CubaCubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, 2000) - Order of the Revolution (LibyaLibyaLibya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
, 2000) - Order of St. Vladimer first degree (2007)
- Order of St. Dmitry Donskoy first degree (2005)
- Order of St. Cyril (by the Belarusian Orthodox Church) (2006)
- Honorary citizen of Yerevan, Armenia (2001)
- Honor Diploma of the Eurasian Economic CommunityEurasian Economic CommunityThe Eurasian Economic Community originated from the Commonwealth of Independent States customs union between Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan on 29 March 1996...
(2006) - Special prize of the International Olympic CommitteeInternational Olympic CommitteeThe International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
«Gates of the Olymph» (2000) - Medal of the International Federation of Festival OrganizationsInternational Federation of Festival OrganizationsFederation Internationale des Organisations de Festivals is an organization to hold and organize festivals worldwide. It was established in 1966 and headquartered in Split, Yugoslavia with President professor Armando Moreno...
«For development of world festival movement» (2005) - Winner of the international premium of Andrey Pervozvanny «For Faith and Loyalty» (1995)
- Order “For Services to the Fatherland”, 2nd Class (Russia, 2001)
External links
- President's official site
- BBC – Profile: Alexander Lukashenko
- "Farming roots of Belarussia's leader", BBC, 27 September 2008