Łukašenka compares people’s assembly to Połack veche

March 15, Pozirk. Alaksandar Łukašenka has drawn parallels between the All-Belarusian People’s Assembly and the Połack veche, a medieval legislature.
Łukašenka spoke to officials on Constitution Day, his press office reported.
He said the 10-12th-century Principality of Połack “created a mechanism to prevent authorities from losing the common touch with the people in the future.”
Assembly delegates have similar powers, he added.
“In the critical moments of history, they decided who will rule, who to trade with, and who to fight,” Łukašenka said.
“In modern terms, it was the veche that made the most important decisions on strategic development, not by the will of one man, the prince, but with the consent of the citizens”.
Łukašenka went on to criticize the 16th-century Statutes of Lithuania as “reflecting the interests of the rich and noble only, which further aggravated social inequality.”
He also spoke negatively of the Constitution of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which he said did not protect “the rights of our people,” referring to the Belarusians.
“The period when our lands were in the Russian Empire did not leave any serious trace in the Belarusian legal tradition either,” he continued.
According to the strongman, “ideologically and conceptually, the Constitution of independent Belarus is the successor of the Constitution of the Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia.” (Łukašenka likely meant the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, a later entity.)
The Supreme Soviet adopted the modern Constitution in 1994, defining Belarus as an independent democratic state.
Łukašenka tightened his grip on the country by amending the Constitution through controversial referenda in 1996, 2004 and 2022.
- PoliticsMinsk restricts Lithuanian trucks to checkpoints closed by VilniusThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsInterior ministry brands 26 as extremistsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsŁukašenka eyes "grand bargain" with Washington based on his interestsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsMinsk hints it may keep border crossings to Lithuania, Poland closedThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsŁukašenka accuses Poland of violating a deal on Poczobut's releaseThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityZelensky: Russia's Oreshnik missiles in Belarus to threaten EuropeThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsŁukašenka claims journalist Pratasievič was a Minsk spy during arrest in 2021The material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics
- SocietyFour workers injured in explosion at Biełaruskalij’s shopThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, Society
- Economy
- Economy, Politics, SecurityLithuania recovers three balloons after Vilnius Airport emergency closureThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsBelarus ranks low on Rule of Law IndexThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityThree Belarusians among 1,292 deserters listed by UkraineThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityMigrant activity at Belarus-EU border jumps 43 percent year on year in OctoberThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsReprisals: Online censorship, disclosure of sentencesThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SocietyVilnius Airport suspends operations for three hours over balloon incursionsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsBelarus' top diplomat says Minsk ready to back North Korea internationallyThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy, Politics, Security
- EconomyBelarus supplied 2,000 tractors to Nigeria – deputy PMThe material is available only to POZIRK+



