{"id":11500,"date":"2022-11-21T10:55:53","date_gmt":"2022-11-21T07:55:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/longreads\/violence-is-means-of-belarusian-regimes-existence\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","slug":"violence-is-means-of-belarusian-regimes-existence","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11500\/","title":{"rendered":"Violence is means of Belarusian regime\u2019s existence"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n By Valeryj Karbalevi\u010d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s top priority is to forestall another uprising similar to the 2020 post-election protests. He repeats it at every government conference no matter what is discussed.<\/b><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Meanwhile, his government has intensified the crackdown. Human rights groups have registered a rise in instances of politically motivated persecution. On November 18, the interior ministry added 97 activists to its list of extremists, taking the total to 1,881.\n<\/p>\n

\nArrests, torture and beatings <\/h2>\n

\n\t Whereas before riot police carried out raids on towns to arrest opposition-minded people, more recently authorities have targeted major companies and organizations. Dozens were reportedly detained in a recent raid on the Academy of Sciences. Reports have been coming in on mass arrests of private company employees.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Police reportedly torture and beat detainees like in the first days after the 2020 presidential election.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t The interior ministry plans to form several mobile squads within the internal troops and riot police to promptly respond to incidents across Belarus, Interior Minister Ivan Kurbako\u016d announced on November 14. The units are expected to focus on dissidents, whom authorities indiscriminately label extremists and terrorists.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Earlier, the government adopted legislation to restrict human rights and give security agencies more powers. The Committee for State Security (KGB) was authorized to prohibit individuals from traveling abroad. Belarusians are no longer eligible to appeal to the UN Human Rights Committee after the government withdrew from a protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.\n<\/p>\n

\nRetaliation for protests <\/h2>\n

\n\t The crackdown expands despite the fact that protests were effectively suppressed a long time ago as \u0141uka\u0161enka seeks revenge for the humiliation he had suffered at the hands of his opponents in 2020.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t The government cannot allow another wave of protests to come from IT professionals or entrepreneurs, the Belarusian ruler said at the November 17 meeting discussing the future of Belarus\u2019 Hi-Tech Park (HTP).\n<\/p>\n

\n\t He said that during mass protests, HTP employees \u201cdid not show themselves, to put it mildly, in the best way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t \u201cThis is partly our fault,\u201d \u0141uka\u0161enka continued. He said that in 2020, the authorities had received reports of a plan to use HTP people as a driving force for the supposed coup. \u201cI confess that neither I nor the security services paid due attention to that,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t He noted that IT professionals benefited from tax concessions and got paid a lot more than others. He made it clear that he was very much upset that they rebelled against him.\n<\/p>\n

\nPolitical terror turns out to be effective <\/h2>\n

\n\t Systemic changes in Belarus are indicative of the regime\u2019s evolution from authoritarianism to totalitarianism. Totalitarian ideologies are aimed at sustaining long-term (perpetual) existence of the political system.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Authoritarian regimes make an effort to reach out to the public and resort to violence only if their policies are rejected. \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s regime was like that before 2020.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t He relied on violence during the 2020 mass protests, guided by the instinct of self-preservation. It was his last-ditch effort in those circumstances. Later he concluded that political terror actually works. He now sees violence as a solution to all problems.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Violence has become the only way for his regime to continue its existence. He is not looking for an understanding. He is looking to force voters to recognize him as a legitimate ruler and put those who disagree in prison or force out of the country. Emigration is the only way for critics in Belarus and Russia to avoid imprisonment.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Although his campaign of political terror already runs in an automatic mode, the process requires certain adjustments. \u0141uka\u0161enka holds meetings with security chiefs week in, week out. He understands that the repressive machine may get out of hand without his tight control.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Valeryj Karbalevi\u010d Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s top priority is to forestall another uprising similar to the 2020 post-election protests. He repeats it at every government conference no matter what is discussed. Meanwhile, his government has intensified the crackdown. Human rights groups have registered a rise in instances of politically motivated persecution. On November 18, the interior […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[22],"class_list":["post-11500","longreads","type-longreads","status-publish","hentry","rubric-theviewer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nViolence is means of Belarusian regime\u2019s existence | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Valeryj Karbalevi\u010d Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s top priority is to forestall another uprising similar to the 2020 post-election protests. 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