Belarus : is the end coming for Lukashenko?

[steeplejack]

Presidential elections loom on August 9th in Belarus. Normally these events are little noted with Aleksandr Lukashenko, president for 26 years, "earning" around 80% of the vote.

Something is building rapidly, though. Two strong candidates have emerged in Belarusian youtube star Sergei Tsihanovsky (subsequently jailed, and wife and family heavily threatened) and Sergei Babariko (former head of Belgazprombank, formerly close to government, jailed yesterday and his whole inner circle / wider network either jailed or put under heavy manners).

Lukashenko meanwhile sacked the previous government by decree, and installed a patsy Prime Minister that few have heard of. He has leant heavily on long time hardline backers in the local siloviki. He has apparently reinforced defences around the presidential residence, and mutters about employing violent respression using the full state apparatus (KGB, OMON, militia, army)

This is amidst a complex battle for influence between the US, who just sold Belarus oil, the EU, who have been enjoying a thaw in relations for a while, and Russia. The long-stalled Union between Russia and Belarus is once again off for the time being, amidst rising disputes over energy supply and process between the two countries. Russia sees belarus as "ours" and will intervene decisively if the EU and US respond clumsily a la Ukraine. Belarus is also highly important strategically thanks to the Druzhba oil pipeline supplying Russian oil & gas to Poland and Ukraine.

Throw in Lukashenko's sclerotic and appalling coronavirus response and you have a multi-dimensional game of chess with a very uncertain outcome. Lukashenko's attempts to ignore or downplay the threat from coronavirus has led to the gorwth of a politically aware and motivated civil society who have realised that they can organise things by themselves, without relying on government ("The People's Quarantine" campaign).It is these people who have been queuing in their tens of thousands to endorse the opposition candidates.

In the broader picture, Belarusian living standards have declined 60-70% in the last decade; the visual forms of Soviet socialism are for now maintained, but this chimerical appeal to "stability" and "to preserve Belarus for our children" is a hollow appeal to a younger generation of digital natives for whom the Soviet Union is a story from history. This is going to be worth watching very closely indeed. Short of extensive and violent repression, or a curveball intervention by a third party, it looks like the beginning of the end for Lukashenko. Hard to see how he can carry on beyond the short term, but that short term may be very unpleasant.

 

[steeplejack]

Major crackdown looming this evening apparently with hundreds of arrests across the country:

 

[steeplejack]

The hardline crackdown continues with ever greater absurdity: OMON and militia mount an attack on a souvenir shop in Minsk, arresting all customers, as it sells a couple of product lines the government don’t like. The shop’s electricity is cut and it is branded a “threat to national security”.

The government has arrested prominent bloggers and disappeared them in KGB jails to stop them writing about politics.

People under the banner “we are the 97%” are organising extraordinary acts of mutual support and solidarity.


Lukashenko is ridiculed as “Sasha 3%” in graffiti all over the country. Opinion polls in Belarus are officially banned, but a few circulating online put his support between 3-6%.

General feeling seems to be that having jailed all his serious opponents Lukashenko can’t be stopped from stealing the August 9 poll. However there’s also a strong belief that this will be his last spin on the carousel. Question is how he leaves power and to what timetable. Severe unrest / violence here is a strong possibility.

Lukashenko made a teary appearance at the delayed May 9 celebration in Moscow this week but left quickly afterwards. Putin brutally snubs Lukashenko’s favoured son Kolya during a laughing meet and greet with bemedalled geriatric military officers. Relations with Putin are very bad but best bet for Moscow seems to be a weakened Lukashenko clinging on with pro-democracy civil society in jail or exiled.

The EU is making the usual impotent rumblings. Recent rapprochment will undoubtedly slow down, but the bloc has few cards to play. Problem for those seeking change is that protests and unrest are not cutting through in a world drowning in pandemic and US presidential news.

 

[steeplejack]

At the risk of continuing this conversation with myself, things have gone rather turbo since the last post on this thread.

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, presidential candidate in Sunday's Belarusian election, has been obliged by the authorities to leave the country for Lithuania. They still have her husband Sergei in jail on trumped-up charges, along with many members of her campaign team. Svetlana was filmed yesterday at the Central Election Commission reading a "prepared statement" calling for protests to stop, and for people to "respect" Lukashenko's "victory".

On Sunday Lukashenko was announced as the winner of the election with 80% of the vote, which is an absolutely farcical conclusion. In the few districts that reported clean numbers, Tikhanovskaya had anything between 60-90% of the votes cast.

Unarmed protestors in Belarus have spent the last two nights being tear-gassed, beaten, subject to sound grenades and rubber bullets, from a variety of police, OMON riot squads, regular army and the KGB Spetznatz Alpha Division. The latter is a so-called "elite" military unit tough enough to attack its own unarmed citizens. This has happened from the capital Minsk across over thirty different towns and cities in the country.

Up to 5,000 people have been arrested, there have been (at least) hundreds of people seriously injured, and two deaths, that we know of. One a young man run over on television by a police truck. Another, a bus driver killed when police launched a sound grenade into his vehicle.

A general strike starts today although many Belarusian people may not know about it, as the internet has been blacked out for 48-72 hours now. In the first morning significant numbers came out at factories and businesses all over the country.

Lukashenko can and will countenance anything to hold the power he has stolen from his own folk. The departure of Tikhanovskaya is a clear attempt to try and decapitate the protest movement. Maria Kolesnikova, one of the three women who stood on a united opposition platform against Lukashenko, stated that Svetlana had no intention to leave the country yesterday when she went to file a complaint with the Central Election Commission. It is widely suggested that she has been balckmailed or otherwise pressured to leave by the KGB.

The question now is how the protests will continue, and according to what strategy. A general strike, if it holds, threatens a very weak economy. People can be beaten on the street but they can't be dragged from their homes and beaten into work.

Meanwhile the EU leadership (with the honourable exceptions of Lithuania and Estonia) wring their hands, issue mealy mouthed statements, and hope it will all just go away so that can get on with their August holiday. The British Foreign Office visibly couldn't care less, not that anyone is terribly bothered.

A general strike may be a better strategy for the people than having endless numbers disappear into the fog of kGB pre-detention under threat of up to fifteen years jail time for "rioting and disorder". Without support interest and help from the international community, though, it will be a tough, uphill struggle for the ordinary folk who have had their votes stolen.

 

[Streathamite]

Fascinating stuff, scary and chilling.

 

[tim]

Good luck to everybody there!

They were allowing six voters an hour to vote at the London Embassy on Sunday. Such blatant disregard for the norms,they can't even be bothered to cheat properly

 

[IC3D]

This happened in the last Brazilian election. 1000's of Brazilians in London couldn't vote for Bolsonaro lol.

 

[MrSki]

Well the good news is that the Police seem to be joining with the protestors.

 

[BristolEcho]

At the risk of continuing this conversation with myself, things have gone rather turbo since the last post on this thread.

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, presidential candidate in Sunday's Belarusian election, has been obliged by the authorities to leave the country for Lithuania. They still have her husband Sergei in jail on trumped-up charges, along with many members of her campaign team. Svetlana was filmed yesterday at the Central Election Commission reading a "prepared statement" calling for protests to stop, and for people to "respect" Lukashenko's "victory".

On Sunday Lukashenko was announced as the winner of the election with 80% of the vote, which is an absolutely farcical conclusion. In the few districts that reported clean numbers, Tikhanovskaya had anything between 60-90% of the votes cast.

Unarmed protestors in Belarus have spent the last two nights being tear-gassed, beaten, subject to sound grenades and rubber bullets, from a variety of police, OMON riot squads, regular army and the KGB Spetznatz Alpha Division. The latter is a so-called "elite" military unit tough enough to attack its own unarmed citizens. This has happened from the capital Minsk across over thirty different towns and cities in the country.

Up to 5,000 people have been arrested, there have been (at least) hundreds of people seriously injured, and two deaths, that we know of. One a young man run over on television by a police truck. Another, a bus driver killed when police launched a sound grenade into his vehicle.

A general strike starts today although many Belarusian people may not know about it, as the internet has been blacked out for 48-72 hours now. In the first morning significant numbers came out at factories and businesses all over the country.

Lukashenko can and will countenance anything to hold the power he has stolen from his own folk. The departure of Tikhanovskaya is a clear attempt to try and decapitate the protest movement. Maria Kolesnikova, one of the three women who stood on a united opposition platform against Lukashenko, stated that Svetlana had no intention to leave the country yesterday when she went to file a complaint with the Central Election Commission. It is widely suggested that she has been balckmailed or otherwise pressured to leave by the KGB.

The question now is how the protests will continue, and according to what strategy. A general strike, if it holds, threatens a very weak economy. People can be beaten on the street but they can't be dragged from their homes and beaten into work.

Meanwhile the EU leadership (with the honourable exceptions of Lithuania and Estonia) wring their hands, issue mealy mouthed statements, and hope it will all just go away so that can get on with their August holiday. The British Foreign Office visibly couldn't care less, not that anyone is terribly bothered.

A general strike may be a better strategy for the people than having endless numbers disappear into the fog of kGB pre-detention under threat of up to fifteen years jail time for "rioting and disorder". Without support interest and help from the international community, though, it will be a tough, uphill struggle for the ordinary folk who have had their votes stolen.

Updates are appreciated!

 

[Oneeyedjarvis]

I really have mixed feelings. Lukashenko is a brutal dictator, he deserves to become a blot in the history books. However, look next door, there were some Russian mercenaries who just happened to have been captured in Belarus, ostensibly transiting to Turkey. Part of the shadowy Wagner Group. The Lukashenko regime alleges there are more in the country reportedly acting to destabilise the situation, whether that is true or not cannot be said as the Lukashenko regime is hardly candid.
However, it is well known that Putin has his beady eye on Belarus with the aim of bringing it back under the control of Moscow, another Russian speaking population just like Crimea. In recent years Putin has been making overtures to Belarus for closer ties, it is possible that the Kremlin will use the instability to take advantage, maybe even mount an "intervention(invasion)" under the pretext of peacekeeping or protecting it's own interests by dealing with a restive country on it's own borders.

Link.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius said on Tuesday that Russia was trying to use a political crisis in Belarus to draw Minsk closer into its orbit by pressuring it to agree to closer integration.

President Vladimir Putin said on Monday he wanted neighbouring Belarus to reactivate stalled plans for more integration with Russia after a contested election win left Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, an on-off Russian ally, on the defensive.

The people of Belarus could hardly have a worse choice, frying pan or fire.

 

[tim]

I really have mixed feelings. Lukashenko is a brutal dictator, he deserves to become a blot in the history books. However, look next door, there were some Russian mercenaries who just happened to have been captured in Belarus, ostensibly transiting to Turkey. Part of the shadowy Wagner Group. The Lukashenko regime alleges there are more in the country reportedly acting to destabilise the situation, whether that is true or not cannot be said as the Lukashenko regime is hardly candid.
However, it is well known that Putin has his beady eye on Belarus with the aim of bringing it back under the control of Moscow, another Russian speaking population just like Crimea. In recent years Putin has been making overtures to Belarus for closer ties, it is possible that the Kremlin will use the instability to take advantage, maybe even mount an "intervention(invasion)" under the pretext of peacekeeping or protecting it's own interests by dealing with a restive country on it's own borders.

Link.


The people of Belarus could hardly have a worse choice, frying pan or fire.

Pull the fucker down, which will give Putin the willies. Then deal with whatever nefarious shittery the Russians, the EU, the US or others try.

 

[Oneeyedjarvis]

Lukashenko should read up about that happened to this fellow.

Link.

 

[Shechemite]

What’s in that link?

 

[mystic pyjamas]

What’s in that link?

It’s a BBC report about the fall of Ceausescu.

 

[steeplejack]

Update: since my last post, Belarus has now entered a general strike. The county’s biggest state owned concerns have downed tools, including Lukashenko’s beloved Minsk Tractor Works. People are very angry at having their votes stolen, and the extreme brutality of the crackdown.

There have been extrordinary scenes. 35000 folk or 10% of the population of Grodno was on the street yesterday. Up to 20000 people descended on government buildings in Minsk. There was an ominous half hour when a big army convoy headed for that demo, but there seems to have been either a change of heart or countermanding orders, and they went away again. Settlements of all sizes had major protests.

I actually don’t think comparisons with Ceausescu or other territories are all that helpful. Belarus is very, very specific. Belarusian people are normally very law abiding and respectful and trusting of authorities which is why their savagery has been so shocking. I think it very unlikely that Lukashenko will be put up against a wall.

However, his political end is nigh. The regime is melting away. The question is how will it end and who will control the aftermath. No one can survive these protests for long although Lukashenko seems intent on living in an alternative reality for as long as he can. Regardless, too much has happened for his old normality to return.

The EU refusing to recognise the legitimacy of last weekend’s results is significant, as is Tikhanovskaya’s work with the Lithuanians to form a National Co-Ordinating Council to work on the transfer of power.

The Wagner mercenaries melodramatically “arrested” in Minsk the week before the election were a favour to Lukashenko from Putin. It allowed the old man to present a crude piece of theatre on how foreigners were trying to interfere whilst also presenting himself as anti -Russian. The mercenaries were sent to Belarus and paid to be arrested and spend ten days in jail. Lukashenko was bellowing about long jail time on their arrest but meekly sent them back after a ‘case closed’ yesterday.

Putin is I think genuinely ambivalent. Comparisons with Ukraine also don’t help so much. He’s long tired of Lukashenko politically and their personal relationship also has got much cooler, apparently. Russia’s preference was for a much weakened Lukashenko to cling on but a naive and inexperienced new president may not be so bad either. Senior Russian figures have also gone public in the last week and dismisses the election as fraudulent and Lukashenko as deranged, so there is a view in the higher echelons happy for the old man to slip away. The Russians won’t do much to prop him up now.

Critically for the Russians, there is no deranged Harvard-educated Friedmanite loonball waiting in the wings to take over and conduct scorched earth privatisations whilst enriching themselves and cronies, wrapped in the EU or US flag. None of the serious presidential alternatives are anti-Russian. Babaraiko, Tsepkalo, the Tikhanovskys, all understand that Belarus’ peaceful future depends on a civil and reasonable relationship with Moscow and will work towards that goal. No one is talking about EU or NATO membership. Trump very clearly couldn’t care less.

The key is the cracking of the elites around Lukashenko, and they seem to be holding the line for now. Factory bosses, local executive chairmen, have however been laughed at and disregarded very publicly by striking workers and angry citizens in the last 48 hours. The economy, already weakened by energy price rows with Russia and the pandemic, cannot withstand long strikes. However I think the position will crumble in the coming week.

How this ends-anyone’s guess still. I think the regime is toast, but there’s been a lot of premature rejoicing on social media. The OMON riot police and the army are still loyal and could inflict a lot of damage. The resistance on the ground seems an inspiring example of self-orgainsation and mutual aid but there’s no clear strategy as to how the broadly agreed goals- new, free and fair elections, an end to violence, release of all those detained since Sunday- can be achieved.

Today’s funeral of a young man shot dead this week by Spetznatz, and a massive demo planned for tomorrow, are the key events coming up this weekend. I suspect we’ll all know which way the cards will fall early next week.

 

[Jeremiah18.17]

Thanks for that post, begins to make sense of Putin propaganda organs like RT and Redfish being relatively ambivalent to the point of appearing supportive of the revolt against Lukashenko, which at first appeared counter-intuitive, especially with their usual Tankie fans in the West muttering about “Colour revolutions”.

 

[teqniq]

Lukashenko appealing directly to Putin. If steepljack is right it may well be that ship has sailed:

Lukashenko: I need to contact Putin, protests not just threat to Belarus

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Saturday he wanted to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin, warning street protests were not just a threat to Belarus.

www.reuters.com

MINSK (Reuters) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Saturday he wanted to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin, warning street protests were not just a threat to Belarus.

Mass unrest followed Lukashenko’s re-election victory last week, as tens of thousands of people took to the streets accusing him of rigging the vote.

“There is a need to contact Putin so that I can talk to him now, because it is not a threat to just Belarus anymore,” he said, according to state news agency Belta.

“Defending Belarus today is no less than defending our entire space, the union state, and an example to others ... Those who roam the streets, most of them do not understand this.”

 

[Oneeyedjarvis]

It seems that it is increasingly likely Putin will make moves to "stabilise the country," to "protect the interests" of a Russian Speaking population. Expect the appearance of soldiers in unmarked green uniforms ( Zeleni Cholovichky/Little Green Men ) popping up.

 

[teqniq]

Indeed so according to this:

Putin confirms readiness to help Belarus based on Union State Treaty

Russia confirmed readiness to provide necessary assistance in ironing out emerging problems based on the principles of the treaty on creating the Union State and also if needed in the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization

tass.com

 

[Crispy]

Huge crowds in Minsk

 

[steeplejack]

Remarkable events today.

Lukashenko held a rally today at noon in which he gave a speech of some desperation. An audience of largely public sector workers were bussed into Minsk to hear a speech threatening invasion by a multi-racial foreign army, and the bald statement that "the demise of Lukashenko means your demise, too". Whilst the interior ministry said 65,000 attended, independent observers put the figure around 5,000. Many of these people had been threatened with dismissal by public sector bosses and managers unless they attended. The event was organised by "Belaya Rus", Lukashenko's political fan club and a half-hearted attempt to create a United Russia-style political vehicle in the country. Lukashenko may be coming to regret treating the project with such indifference. He also still has the support of one wing of the split Belarusian Communist Party.

The counter demonstrations seem to have taken place in every settlement from Brest and Grodno on the Belarus/ Poland border (almost every inhabitant of Grodno seems to be on the street, from the pictures) to Mogilev, Gomel and Vitebsk in the east of the country. The demonstrations are absolutely overwhelming- over 200,000 in Minsk presently with demonstrations calling for the release of political prisoners outside the main KGB office and the city jail.

Again, I think it far from certain that Russia will intervene directly. It really doesn't have to for the reasons stated above. There is no serious anti-Russian opposition amongst the presidential alternatives. There is no expensively dentured pro-EU & anti-Russian candidate in a £3,000 suit waiting in the wings. No opposition candidate has any interest in NATO or EU membership. The scenes from Belarus today will demonstrate clearly that Lukashenko is no longer salvageable. Russia has no political vehicle established in Belarus nor does it have the little green men infrastructure on the ground, by all accounts, as it did elsewhere.

For sure Putin and his cronies will want a good deal of control on the aftermath of these events. It may be that they act counter-intuitively, working with Lithuania (where Tikhanovskaya still is) to support a transition of power away from Lukashenko. This would gain them some brownie points internationally (when so many people seem to be breathlessly anticipating an invasion / little green men style event). Thanks to energy supply and extensive business involvement Russia and China will work with whoever comes next. They may even have come to the view that it will be easier to deal with a new and inexperienced president rather than the expensive and protracted affair of trying to prop up a very obviously lame duck now. Press coverage on the television and in most newspapers is remarkably even-handed and fair to the protestors, and has covered extensively the brutality and violence of the regime's goons in OMON and the KGB. If invasion or little green men were coming, then the press would be whipping things up against the protestors and in favour of "brotherly support" for the regime. It should also be noted that Putin's "pledge" of support yesterday does not actually commit him to anything more than what has long been agreed- that Russia will come to Belarus' aid in the event of invasion by a third party. It would take a remarkable piece of theatre to craft that convincingly and justify the Russian army appearing. It's just not going to happen. I am not talking about anyone on this thread, but there are right wing commentators elsewhere who seem genuinely desperate for Putin to invade or undermine the protests in some other way.

The question is when Lukashenko will leave, not if, and how will he leave- violently, by fleeing, or simply by giving up. He is very stubborn, clearly very deluded, and from today's performance actually quite hurt by the 'ingratitude' of the electorate. Whilst he will try and spin things out for as long as he can, I think flight is the likeliest option. His regime simply cannot withstand this pressure for very much longer. The strategy - which is the last card they had to play- of simply holding tight and letting it all blow over with time- is simply not going to work. That said, the strategy of the leaderless protest movement in getting him physically ejected from office isn't so clear yet, either.

 

[ska invita]

For entertainment purposes only, here's the view from unreformed UK Communist headbangers

www.newworker.org | Stand by Belarus

And

www.newworker.org | Order restored in Minsk

 

[teqniq]

More from Minsk today:

 

[steeplejack]

For entertainment purposes only, here's the view from unreformed UK Communist headbangers

www.newworker.org | Stand by Belarus

And

www.newworker.org | Order restored in Minsk

Does anyone actually still read this bullshit?

 

[Streathamite]

Remarkable events today.

Lukashenko held a rally today at noon in which he gave a speech of some desperation. An audience of largely public sector workers were bussed into Minsk to hear a speech threatening invasion by a multi-racial foreign army, and the bald statement that "the demise of Lukashenko means your demise, too". Whilst the interior ministry said 65,000 attended, independent observers put the figure around 5,000. Many of these people had been threatened with dismissal by public sector bosses and managers unless they attended. The event was organised by "Belaya Rus", Lukashenko's political fan club and a half-hearted attempt to create a United Russia-style political vehicle in the country. Lukashenko may be coming to regret treating the project with such indifference. He also still has the support of one wing of the split Belarusian Communist Party.

The counter demonstrations seem to have taken place in every settlement from Brest and Grodno on the Belarus/ Poland border (almost every inhabitant of Grodno seems to be on the street, from the pictures) to Mogilev, Gomel and Vitebsk in the east of the country. The demonstrations are absolutely overwhelming- over 200,000 in Minsk presently with demonstrations calling for the release of political prisoners outside the main KGB office and the city jail.

Again, I think it far from certain that Russia will intervene directly. It really doesn't have to for the reasons stated above. There is no serious anti-Russian opposition amongst the presidential alternatives. There is no expensively dentured pro-EU & anti-Russian candidate in a £3,000 suit waiting in the wings. No opposition candidate has any interest in NATO or EU membership. The scenes from Belarus today will demonstrate clearly that Lukashenko is no longer salvageable. Russia has no political vehicle established in Belarus nor does it have the little green men infrastructure on the ground, by all accounts, as it did elsewhere.

For sure Putin and his cronies will want a good deal of control on the aftermath of these events. It may be that they act counter-intuitively, working with Lithuania (where Tikhanovskaya still is) to support a transition of power away from Lukashenko. This would gain them some brownie points internationally (when so many people seem to be breathlessly anticipating an invasion / little green men style event). Thanks to energy supply and extensive business involvement Russia and China will work with whoever comes next. They may even have come to the view that it will be easier to deal with a new and inexperienced president rather than the expensive and protracted affair of trying to prop up a very obviously lame duck now. Press coverage on the television and in most newspapers is remarkably even-handed and fair to the protestors, and has covered extensively the brutality and violence of the regime's goons in OMON and the KGB. If invasion or little green men were coming, then the press would be whipping things up against the protestors and in favour of "brotherly support" for the regime. It should also be noted that Putin's "pledge" of support yesterday does not actually commit him to anything more than what has long been agreed- that Russia will come to Belarus' aid in the event of invasion by a third party. It would take a remarkable piece of theatre to craft that convincingly and justify the Russian army appearing. It's just not going to happen. I am not talking about anyone on this thread, but there are right wing commentators elsewhere who seem genuinely desperate for Putin to invade or undermine the protests in some other way.

The question is when Lukashenko will leave, not if, and how will he leave- violently, by fleeing, or simply by giving up. He is very stubborn, clearly very deluded, and from today's performance actually quite hurt by the 'ingratitude' of the electorate. Whilst he will try and spin things out for as long as he can, I think flight is the likeliest option. His regime simply cannot withstand this pressure for very much longer. The strategy - which is the last card they had to play- of simply holding tight and letting it all blow over with time- is simply not going to work. That said, the strategy of the leaderless protest movement in getting him physically ejected from office isn't so clear yet, either.

top post!
Can't help thinking that if Putin's really smart, he'll engineer the situation so that he is seen to be 'working diplomatically and persuasively, behind the scenes', to ease Lukashenko out. Instant brownie points with both Belarus people and new President, business as usual assured.

 

[steeplejack]

Russian troop movements reported near Smolensk, heading in direction of Belarus, and in Kaliningrad oblast from the West, heading for Belarusian border. Social media footage only at present.

Lukashenko has two options; resign, or call in Putin. Pretty obviously he’ll choose the latter. So fine politicsl calculation needed. Putin pretty clearly doesn’t give a shit about Lukashenko but his views on what should replace him aren’t known.

Lots of hyper-ventilation on twitter.

 

[Oneeyedjarvis]

For entertainment purposes only, here's the view from unreformed UK Communist headbangers

www.newworker.org | Stand by Belarus

And

www.newworker.org | Order restored in Minsk

What those who purport to call themselves Communist seem to forget is that Russia and it's associates are about as far from communism as it is possible to be. Russia and Belarus are red only in tooth and claw, the gangster privatisations of the 90s created the oligarchs by stripping the assets of national industries and letting them die, workers thrown onto the scrapheap and into an early grave. People literally starved, homeless froze to death, the free healthcare and pensions stopped. That is not communism, it is not socialism. In Belarus they kept the name of the old system but it is run exactly like Russia where a few people become fantastically wealthy through corruption, theft and legal immunity.

 

[steeplejack]

Actually, gangster privatisations were reversed in the 90s by Lukashenko. Mafia were largely eliminated at that time too.

Yes the countries are aligned politically but there are significant important differences. It’s not helpful to just describe them as one and the same.

 

[steeplejack]

Anyway, this morning the strike has extended. Viewers woke to find no one in the studios of state TV, which played inane music before even the lights on empty studio went out.

Tikhanovskaya re-iterated her willingness to become president on a temporary basis to oversee free elections. She once again called on police to defect to the side of the people.

Russian state TV significantly led with this item this morning. No further information on Russian troop movements that social media was getting all flustered about a few hours ago.

 

[ska invita]

Does anyone actually still read this bullshit?

Not many, but it's a similar (but more crypto) tone in the Morning Star and from other Communist Party parts

MS:
"
Communist parties in Italy and Russia have warned against another US-sponsored “colour revolution” similar to those that took place in Georgia and Ukraine.

The Communist Party of Belorussia welcomed the “unconditional victory” of Mr Lukashenko, calling it the natural consequence of the economic growth of the republic since he came to power in 1994.

It blamed the protests on “subversive work” by “specially trained instigators, from outright fascists to inveterate criminals,” saying that it enjoyed the support of at least 18 fraternal communist parties.

It warned that “foreign puppeteers” were aiming to carry out a coup in Belarus. “It is clear that if they win, the country will face bloody chaos and landslide degradation,” a statement from the party central committee said"