{"id":78090,"date":"2024-04-06T16:43:36","date_gmt":"2024-04-06T13:43:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/78090\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T13:35:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T13:35:32","slug":"in-system-built-on-lies-lukasenka-teaches-officials-honesty","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/78090\/","title":{"rendered":"In system built on lies \u0141uka\u0161enka teaches officials honesty"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka has built his system on lies and fraud and never stops at anything to hold on to power.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n \"\"\n
\n \n
\n (Pozirk)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Belarusian ruler on April 4 warned newly appointed officials against lying. “Never do that in your life,\u201d he said. \u201cTomorrow it will affect the results. It\u2019ll come back to bite you.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making numbers shine<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In November 2006, \u0141uka\u0161enka stunned Ukrainian journalists by admitting to election fraud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Yes, we have falsified the last elections, I have already told the Westerners. Ninety-three point five percent voted for President \u0141uka\u0161enka. Ninety-three point five. But, they say this is not a European result. We trimmed it down to eighty-six.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In that election, the central election commission reported that he won with 82.97 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He presented fraud as virtue, a generous gesture, indicating that he was so powerful and confident that he could tell his subordinates to trim down his results to please the Europeans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apparently, it did not occur to him that it was a criminal offense to manipulate numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, he later admitted to manipulation several times, in particular in an interview with Russia\u2019s Izvestia<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In September 2020, when hundreds of thousands took to the street to protest election fraud, he said: “I swear to you, there were no lies in the election. You can’t falsify an election with 80 percent [of the vote for \u0141uka\u0161enka].”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But in February 2021 he was not so sure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Well, you know, frankly speaking, our governors have a habit of showing off who is better. Some could add half a percent, one percent, two percent [of votes for \u0141uka\u0161enka]. But listen, you can’t fake 80 percent.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, he even bargained for the recognition of his victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Well, if someone doesn’t like 80 percent, let it be 76 percent. Let it be 68 percent, which is the current average in the polls, let it be. But we are still the winners.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words, a dozen percent here and there is nothing – don’t be nerds, don’t be picky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is not even a question of how many percent officials added to his totals. The law forbids the executive to interfere with vote count.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka does not even hide that he and his cronies twisted election figures. The rule of law, an understanding of what is legal and what is a crime, is completely absent among the ruling class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Constitutional Court singing to dictator\u2019s tune<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Whether they like it or not, all officials dance to the tune of the ruler, simply because they are part of the system. If they do not, they not only lose their jobs but can also end up in prison as traitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Piotr Mik\u0142a\u0161evi\u010d, chairman of the Constitutional Court, claimed recently that the government provides guarantees for the people to exercise their rights and freedoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Viasna Human Rights Center says there are 1,400 political prisoners in Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, there are many more, plus those who have served their sentences. Hundreds of thousands of opponents have been forced into exile. Every day security forces arrest dissidents who, among other things, demand fair elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A long time ago, the Constitutional Court declared \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s decrees unconstitutional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1996, the Constitutional Court tried to impeach him, but he held a referendum, marred by serious violations, to expand his powers, eliminate checks and balances, dissolve the Supreme Soviet and bring all branches of power under his control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since then, the Constitutional Court has been servile to the incumbent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It claims to maintain the law and order but turns a blind eye to violations of constitutional rights and the dehumanization of opponents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rampant lawlessness and political terror have paralyzed the country with fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Terror and lies<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The system built by \u0141uka\u0161enka is riddled with lies. Officials engage in fraud and Soviet-style window-dressing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The state ideology has been implanted at schools, universities and businesses, although Lukashenka admits that the ideology is still work in progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka had claimed that he would not let anyone attack Ukraine from Belarus, but in February 2022 Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine from the Homiel region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What angers his opponents most is his brazen lies are about elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Holas think tank collected enough evidence to suggest that opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja would have carried the election in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the election authority announced \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s landslide win with 80 percent of the vote, claiming that Cichano\u016dskaja received only 10 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lies unleashed hundreds of thousands of protesters into the street, but the peaceful revolution was suppressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ruler hates it when his subordinates lie to him or steal behind his back. But when it comes to cementing his regime, anything goes, including lies about elections, political opponents, Western conspiracies and NATO troops ready to attack Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Look guys, everything is focused on finding a way to bring us down. Whatever relations we may have with you, I have scolded you, removed you from your jobs, etc., you must be statesmen,” \u0141uka\u0161enka told the newly appointed officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the current system, being a statesman means ensuring the inviolability of the regime at all costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Changing the government through elections is out of the question, on the contrary, it is a crime to even think about it. When people no longer support you, the only option is to keep them in fear and rig elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I often say in public: do what you want and how you think necessary,\u201d \u0141uka\u0161enka said on April 4. \u201cOf course there are laws and rules, they have been in our blood for a long time. But when a result is needed, one should stand side by side, shoulder to shoulder to bypass this law and make a decision.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He actually repeated his infamous 2020 remark, \u201cSometimes you have other things to worry about, not law.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka has already made it clear that he will run again in 2025. He may want to show a better result than Vladimir Putin’s 87.28 percent. He may be aiming at 90 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What will officials choose? To be honest as he told them and risk losing their jobs in case of a poor result, or play along with their master?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taking into account public discontent with the incumbent, it seems that a new big lie is already in the program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka has built his system on lies and fraud and never stops at anything to hold on to power. The Belarusian ruler on April 4 warned newly appointed officials against lying. “Never do that in your life,\u201d he said. \u201cTomorrow it will affect the results. It\u2019ll come back to bite you.” Making numbers shine […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":87,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[24],"class_list":["post-78090","longreads","type-longreads","status-publish","hentry","rubric-theviewer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIn system built on lies \u0141uka\u0161enka teaches officials honesty | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka has built his system on lies and fraud and never stops at anything to hold on to power. 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