{"id":73858,"date":"2024-03-18T19:15:41","date_gmt":"2024-03-18T16:15:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/73858\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T13:35:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T13:35:32","slug":"lukasenka-defends-dictatorship-in-his-constitution-day-address","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/73858\/","title":{"rendered":"\u0141uka\u0161enka defends dictatorship in his Constitution Day address"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On the 30th anniversary of the Constitution Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka played up his ability to keep the common touch.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka benefited from democracy<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On March 15, \u0141uka\u0161enka addressed officials at the Palace of Independence on the 30th anniversary of the Constitution, which he had amended many times to tighten his grip on power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1996, he held a constitutional referendum to award himself sweeping powers and dissolve the Supreme Soviet after it moved to impeach him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2004, he abolished the two-term limit for presidents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2022, he enabled himself to combine the jobs of head of state and chairman of the All-Belarusian People’s Assembly, added lifetime guarantees for himself and made his exiled opponents ineligible to run for president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He deleted clauses emphasizing the nation\u2019s aspiration for neutrality and nuclear-free status to allow Russia to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He claimed that the move reflected public sentiment, although polls showed that most voters did not support it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking on March 15, \u0141uka\u0161enka cast Belarus\u2019 parliamentary democracy of the early 1990s in a negative light, although he should have credited it for his rise to the top.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Agenda-driven politicians were trying to impose on society a scheme of systemic chaos and de facto powerlessness, a form of parliamentary republic. But the people went for strong power,” \u0141uka\u0161enka said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He claimed that Belarus would lose independence if it was not ruled by a strongman. The suggestion is simply preposterous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The presidents of the Baltic states, without his sweeping powers, have achieved much more in terms of independence safeguards than \u0141uka\u0161enka who turned his country into a satellite of the aggressive empire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stagnation, dependence, on the brink of war<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

“Only a lazy person outside the country has not called \u0141uka\u0161enka a dictator and authoritarian president,\u201d the Belarusian leader complained at the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat is important is what we have as a result: untapped national wealth, preserved sovereignty, security and peace in our homeland and prosperity of our citizens.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This defensive statement does not hold water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Untapped national wealth” is a euphemism that conceives an inefficient, resource-hungry public sector of the economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sovereignty is under threat. Moscow is imposing new integration programs to tie down Belarus to its sphere of influence. After 2020, Minsk has no option but to stick with Russia because its relations with the West have been smashed into pieces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Security and peace are actually hanging by a thread after the regime supported the Russian assault on Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A big question mark hangs over the much-advertised prosperity. Belarus has been outpaced by its neighbors in economic growth, while the standard of living is one of the lowest in Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Holding on to power<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The memories of 2020 still haunt \u0141uka\u0161enka. He just cannot admit that he brutally suppressed progressive people’s urge for freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, he talked of divine intervention. “God helped us in 2020. If we hadn’t stood our ground then, there would have been a war here. They [political opponents] would have brought NATO troops here. Imagine Russia’s reaction [if] NATO troops [were] near Smolensk. It would have been a nuclear war.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He presents his obsession with power and reprisals against his opponents as an effort to save the world from a nuclear war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking at the event, Vadzim Hihin, a regime stalwart, reiterated the need for a state ideology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka took up the topic, “We will discuss at the highest level, at the All-Belarusian People’s Assembly, a concept or maybe some concrete plans. And perhaps the whole theory – the state ideology . . . This state ideology should take the entire nation by storm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He and his propagandists have been discussing it for years. But no matter how hard they tried, they have failed to produce any brilliant ideas. In this respect, \u0141uka\u0161enka is at disadvantage as compared to the Soviet Union, whose communist ideology initially inspired the masses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On the 30th anniversary of the Constitution Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka played up his ability to keep the common touch. \u0141uka\u0161enka benefited from democracy On March 15, \u0141uka\u0161enka addressed officials at the Palace of Independence on the 30th anniversary of the Constitution, which he had amended many times to tighten his grip on power. In 1996, he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":87,"featured_media":72532,"template":"","rubric":[22],"class_list":["post-73858","longreads","type-longreads","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-theviewer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\u0141uka\u0161enka defends dictatorship in his Constitution Day address | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"On the 30th anniversary of the Constitution Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka played up his ability to keep the common touch. \u0141uka\u0161enka benefited from democracy On\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/73858\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u0141uka\u0161enka defends dictatorship in his Constitution Day address | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta 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