Belarusian Authorities Research Articles

FROM PRISON TO A MODEL OF BELARUSIAN SOCIETY

This analytical essay is a fragment of the research devoted to the analysis of the organization and way of life and social relations in modern Belarusian penitentiaries after August 2020. The study proposes to consider the world of the Belarusian prison as a social model, which the Belarusian authorities are actively unfolding in modern Belarus. This model manifests itself especially in the situation when a large number of political prisoners appear in prisons, which creates situations of confrontation between two worlds. The author consecutively examines several lines of tension in the lifestyles and actions of two colliding worlds: identity and self-image, critical thinking, minority (Unmündigkeit), community connections and relations, the private and the public. The conclusion gives a general characterization of this social model and examines the phenomenon of communal sociality as a basic element for the formation of this kind of systems in the modern world. The research is based on the reflection of the author’s personal experience.

Social perception of migrants from “Belarus” from the perspective of voits and mayors from the area of the border strip under the state of emergency (case study)

The crisis on the border between Belarus and three EU countries, i.e. Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, which has been ongoing since the spring of 2021, was an unprecedented attempt in Europe to destabilize the situation inside the Community. Poland faced a challenge it had not faced before. The challenge was faced not only by state authorities and services dedicated to the protection of the Union’s external border, but above all by the residents of the border areas. The influx of illegal migrants inspired by the Belarusian authorities and, as a result, the introduction of the state of emergency affected their lives to the greatest extent, disrupting its rhythm, while the migrants appearing in the farms introduced a hitherto unknown fear of strangers. In this context, the issue of perception and evaluation of the migration crisis and the actions taken by the government from the point of view of local authorities: mayors and village heads of border areas bordering Belarus seems to be extremely interesting cognitively. An empirical survey carried out on a purposive, exhaustive sample of village heads and mayors of municipalities in the border area was devoted to this problem. It should be noted here that the project had the character of a case study. It was diagnostic (exploratory) in nature at this stage and needs to be deepened in the course of further research. The results obtained allow to positively confirm the formulated research hypotheses. The problem of illegal migrants was perceived by the respondents as an issue requiring decisive and immediate action by state institutions. Cooperation with Mateusz Morawiecki’s government and its field bodies was positively assessed. The mayors mostly approved of the emergency measures treating them as necessary to resolve the crisis.

Ryanair flight no. FR 4978. Legal aspects of the hijacking of a Polish plane in Belarus on 23 May 2021

This article is devoted to a legal analysis of the events of 23 May 2021 involving a Polish Boeing 737-800 with registration number SP-RSM, performing a flight from Athens to Vilnius, specifically the actions of the Belarusian authorities (air traffic services and special services) that led to the forced landing of this aircraft in Minsk, which allowed the arrest of Roman Protasevich and his partner. The basis of the considerations in the first part of the article is the interpretation of the relevant international and Belarusian law in the context of the revealed circumstances surrounding the incident under investigation. The author’s aim was to answer the question of whether the actions of the Belarusian authorities were legal. Ultimately, it was shown that on 23 May 2021, a number of legal rules governing air navigation were violated in relation to the Polish aircraft, which raises the question of who should bear responsibility for it and on the basis of which legal norms. The second part of the article is devoted to this issue. The conclusion is that under international law, the responsibility for the illegal forced landing of Boeing 737-800 should be borne by the Belarusian state, and under internal criminal law regulations - by individual Belarusian officials.

Were the Lithuanian and Polish Responses to the Refugee Influx Legal or Illegal?

Abstract Since the summer of 2021, the Baltic Sea states of Latvia, Lithuania and Poland have been facing an influx of refugees from the territory of Belarus. This migration is fully controlled by the Belarusian authorities. Refugees, coming mainly from Middle Eastern countries, are forced to cross the border with neighbouring EU countries. The aim of this article is therefore to present the legal responses of the Lithuanian and Polish authorities to this influx, to compare the solutions adopted and to critically analyse them. Both states decided to use constitutional measures in the form of states of emergency introduced on a part of their territory, and adopted a number of solutions in laws and regulations. Therefore, the article critically analyses the legal basis for the introduction of a state of emergency in both states. It also analyses the solutions adopted at the statutory level, which enable border services to use push-back. The legal regulations introduced are also compared with international and European Union law binding on both Lithuania and Poland. Therefore examples of violations of international law in the field of refugees’ rights to seek international protection are indicated.

The role of provocative-deceptive actions in neutralizing the Belarusian opposition

The author analyzes the actions of the Belarusian authorities in the situation of the social rebellion triggered by the rigged elections in 2020. He puts forward a hypothesis that a significant role in extinguishing the protest potential was played by agent deception games conducted by the Belarusian KGB, as well as parallel repressive actions and the regime’s information offensive, which resulted in a synergy of propaganda and disinformation-agent activities.

The Eurasian Component in the Foreign Policy of the Republic of Belarus, 1991-2021

The article discloses the essence and features of the Eurasian component in the foreign policy of the Republic of Belarus. The scientific novelty of the article lies in revealing the role and place of the Eurasian component in the foreign policy strategy of the Belarusian state at two levels - the Eurasian space as a whole and individual states belonging to this space. Using the tools of neoclassical realism, linking the implementation of the foreign policy process with the state of development of the state, and the theory of foreign policy analysis, the author comes to the conclusion about the increasing importance of the Eurasian component in the foreign policy of Belarus in the second half of the 1990s and the first two decades of the 21st century. According to the author, the course for the development of cooperation between the Republic of Belarus and the Eurasian states was predetermined by its economic interests, although a certain role in its implementation was played by political guidelines of the Belarusian leadership (maintaining stability in the Belarusian state, reinforcing the thesis of the effectiveness of a multi-vector foreign policy, expanding the range of communication in the world arena). A specific feature of the Belarusian Eurasian policy was the absence of a fundamental conceptualization of actions in this direction and the prevalence of situational solutions in building relations with individual Eurasian states. Until the early 2020s, the Eurasian region was considered by the Belarusian authorities and experts mainly in functional and geographical terms, without being perceived as a distinctive civilizational association. At the current stage of development of the Belarusian state, its key partners in Eurasia are Russia, relations with which are being built within the framework of integration associations (the Union State, the EAEU, the CSTO), and China, which is promoting the Belt and Road initiative. However, conceptually, the issue of Belarus geostrategic positioning in Eurasia still needs to be finalized.

Белорусский политический кризис 2020–2021 гг.: первый этап

The article is devoted to the analysis of the causes of the Belarusian political crisis and the struggle of A. Lukashenko’s regime opponents against the Belarusian authorities in 2020–2021. The paper examines the scientific discussion on the nature and specifics of popular uprisings in Belarus in August–November 2020. The Belarusian authorities used the terms “color revolution” and “mutiny”. At the same time, A. Lukashenko gradually came to a conclusion that the main reason for the crisis is the external interference of neighboring countries of the European Union and NATO. The study provides examples of assessments of events in Belarus by foreign researchers. In foreign scientific articles, the leading role of the Russian factor in the Belarusian political crisis is fixed. In Russian political science, the thesis is defended that in 2020, a “color revolution” took place in the Republic of Belarus. The article primarily analyzes the internal socio-economic and political reasons for popular uprisings in the cities of Belarus in August–October 2020. As part of the analysis of the dissatisfaction among the Belarusian population with A. Lukashenko’s economic policy, the negative role of the oligarchic capitalism formed in Belarus is noted. Particular attention is paid to the reasons for the developing of the protest potential of Lukashenko’s electorate at the beginning of 2020. The study analyzes the political phenomenon of Belarus – the presence of a base (main) electorate. For almost a quarter of a century, the inertia of the political orientation of the base electorate ensured stable support for A. Lukashenko’s regime. The article states the fact that the Belarusian authorities, in their populist and demagogic policy regarding the COVID 19 pandemic, failed to assess the catastrophic fall in A. Lukashenko’s rating in time. The failure of the Belarusian authorities in the fight against COVID 19 launched the formation of the protest vote against the candidacy of A. Lukashenko in the 2020 presidential election. The article analyzes the tactics of street protests and the actions of the Belarusian authorities against their political opponents. The author notes the impasse in the political system of Belarus, the expansion of the public split, and the lack of dialogue between political opponents. Until now, the Belarusian authorities have been able to maintain control over the country, but no real way out of the political crisis has been found. One of the consequences of the crisis was the growing dependence of the political regime on Russia. However, this dependence did not translate into an acceleration of economic integration between the countries. The way out of the political crisis chosen by A. Lukashenko in conducting constitutional reform (the referendum on February 27, 2022) can lead to dual power and end with political destabilization similar to Kazakhstan (January 2022).

Od insurekcji do rewolucji

Over the past 30 years, the anarchist movement in Belarus has been constantly developing and radicalising. Both the active participation of anarchists in the 2020 protests (mass demonstrations, performances of students and workers, grass-roots courtyard initiatives, anarcho-partisans), as well as the publication of a number of analytical articles and the proposing of two political programmes (Pramen, Ihar Alinievich) allow the Belarusian revolution to be considered as not only the culmination of the radicalisation of the anarchist movement, but also as a completion of the formation of a virile and independent socio-political movement. The participation of anarchists in the revolution, in turn, made them key figures of unprecedented repressions by the Belarusian authorities (including the recognition of anarcho-partisans as terrorists). As a result, the Belarusian anarchist movement was paralysed.

Tak trudno się rozstać

The aim of this article is to analyse the privatisation process in the Republic of Belarus. This analysis will help to answer two questions. Firstly, is Belarusian privatisation strategic in nature? Secondly, what theoretical framework explains Belarusian privatisation policy?Juxtaposing the process of transferring state property to the private sphere in Belarus with traditional theoretical frameworks explaining the causes and course of privatisation in the former Soviet bloc countries does not fully explain the actions of the Belarusian authorities. Privatisation transactions were not part of a broader plan to restructure the economy. They were carried out ad hoc, usually as a result of a combination of two factors – pressure from external actors and the need to raise budget funds.To explain the actions of President Alexander Lukashenko, it seems appropriate to use an approach derived from the concept of power-ownership developed by Russian researchers Yuri Latov and Rustem Nureev. This assumes the formation of property rights from above and directly links political power with property control. In this view, giving up control over property is tantamount to giving up political power.

United States Sanctions Belarus for Diversion of Ryanair Flight and Ongoing Repression

On May 23, 2021, Belarusian authorities forced a Ryanair flight from Athens, Greece to Vilnius, Lithuania to land in Minsk in response to a false bomb threat and then arrested Roman Protasevich, an exiled journalist onboard the flight. The United States joined much of the international community in condemning the flight's diversion and imposing additional sanctions on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's regime, adding to those levied throughout the last year due to Lukashenko's repression of opposition figures and others who have protested the results of the August 2020 Belarusian election.

‘Better to be a Dictator than Gay’: Homophobic Discourses in Belarusian Politics

This essay analyses the political discourses employed by both the Belarusian authorities and the opposition with regard to homophobia and the LGBT community. It explores the anti-LGBT rhetoric and political homophobia that has been identified in the literature on Russian and Ukrainian politics as a baseline for examining neighbouring Belarus. It identifies which homophobic discourses are present in Belarus and how political homophobia is wielded by different actors on the domestic political scene.

Exhibition Review: Every Day. Art. Solidarity. Resistance

Exhibition Review: <i>Every Day. Art. Solidarity. Resistance</i>

Role of Czech Republic in the Development of Belarus Civil Society

The reaction of the Belarusian authorities to the August 2020 demonstrations, drew strong condemnation from the Czech Republic. The article analyzes the reasons for such close attention of the Czech officials to the Belarusian problems. The historical context of the Czech Republic’s support for the Belarusian opposition is outlined; revealed the human rights and value aspects of the foreign policy of Prague, where support for democracy and human rights is an integral feature of Czech diplomacy at its present stage of development. The author examines the «Program of Transformational Cooperation» of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He comes to the conclusion that the Belarusian direction has always been among the priorities and has not disappeared from the agenda. However, the stability of the Belarusian regime led to the fact that the Czechs began to contribute to the development of democracy in other countries, where its «implantation» was more real.

Analysis of the Welfare Sphere Branches in Belarus: the Lessons are to be Learned

The topic of welfare sector development in Belarus nowadays is of huge interest since by means of the welfare development level it is possible to judge the level of the country’s economic system and the quality of public sector services as well. In recent years, especially in times of recession, the welfare sector positions in Belarus have been considerably weakened. This is partly explained by the aspiration to keep the old Soviet designs in the welfare system construction. At the same time, when national and subnational budgets are planned, governments try to hold with great difficulty the budgetary indicators of the welfare sphere at the level of last years. Such attempts, however, lead to the saving of budgetary funds only and they influence the deterioration of the welfare quality. The present paper pursues the aim to show: (i) what tendencies of social budgetary policy can be observed in the time of economic recession, (ii) how consistent was the welfare orientation of the central and local budgets in practice, and (iii) prospect ways for the welfare sector financing and what new financial tools and mechanisms are to be introduced. In the paper, methodology is linked with the suggested approach to evaluate the authority’s fiscal efforts in welfare branches development using the elasticity coefficient in which exists the correlation between expenditure on welfare sphere branches and total budget revenues. By inserting the authority’s financial reports data into the elasticity coefficient there is an opportunity to assess the authority’s fiscal efforts in welfare policy. The main methodology background is based on financial reports of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Belarus and on-line databases present in the public finance area. The author considers the Belarusian welfare branches in national and subnational budgets, their structure, dynamics and other important indicators. A comparative analysis of the welfare sector branches with other European countries is submitted. The paper highlights the inconsistent policy of the Belarusian authorities in the sphere of the welfare branches’ funding. Also, there are considered debatable issues of the welfare sphere finance reformation in Belarus during the economic crisis.

ПРОБЛЕМИ ТА ПЕРСПЕКТИВИ БІЛОРУСЬКОЇ ДІАСПОРИ В СУЧАСНІЙ УКРАЇНІ У СВІТЛІ ПОДІЙ БІЛОРУСЬКОЇ РЕВОЛЮЦІЇ ГІДНОСТІ І СВОБОДИ

The problem of emigration to Ukraine of a significant number of Belarusian citizens due to the events of the Belarusian anti-Lukashenko revolution of dignity and freedom, which began in this country in August 2020 after the presidential election, is discussed in the article. It is noted that at the beginning of 2021 the number of those who fled to Ukraine, hiding from repression and persecution by the Belarusian authorities, was already more than 75 thousand people. In the future, the number of Belarusian refugees is projected to increase to 100-120 thousand people by 2021. It is unknown yet which of these people will join the Belarusian Diaspora in Ukraine, which before these events was the second largest Diaspora in Ukraine. And who considers Ukraine only as a territory of transit further to the East, or the West, for example, to Poland. In connection with these events, the Ukrainian state and society faced a series of challenges, problems and threats, to which it will be necessary to find adequate answers. In particular, the authors of the article consider unjustified some warnings expressed by patriotic Ukrainian citizens about the possible growth of pro-Russian sentiment in Ukraine due to the arrival and settlement of Belarusian refugees here. It seems logical that people with pro-Russian sentiments would rather immigrate to Russia than come to Ukraine. It is expected that a significant problem for the newly arrived Belarusians may be the understanding and establishment of dialogue and contacts with the "old" Belarusian Diaspora in Ukraine because of its commitment to Lukashenko and sympathy for Russia. It is concluded that Belarusian citizens, active participants in the Belarusian revolution, can become a useful enzyme for accelerating the reform processes in Ukraine and will contribute to further democratic and pro-European movement in this area.

ВЛИЯНИЕ ПАНДЕМИИ COVID-19 НА МИГРАЦИОННУЮ СИТУАЦИЮ И МИГРАЦИОННУЮ ПОЛИТИКУ В РЕСПУБЛИКЕ БЕЛАРУСЬ

Since 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic has become a new factor in changing the migration situation in the world, and its impact has had an extremely negative impact in all countries of the world. In the article, the authors consider the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the migration situation and migration policy in Belarus. At the beginning of the pandemic, the Belarusian authorities did not recognize the threat of COVID-19 and denied the need to impose a ban on crossing the state border, which is why the current situation in Belarus was not like other countries. However, as in other countries, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected the labor market and labor migration in general. Belarusian migrants, like most migrants in the world, leave in search of a better life, career and high wages abroad. In 2019-2020, the majority had to return to their homeland and adapt to new living conditions, including finding a job at home, with a relatively high unemployment rate in the country. Also, it is worth noting that despite the pandemic, money transfers that were transferred by migrants from abroad did not decrease, but on the contrary increased, which is most likely due to the fact that migrants provided assistance to their relatives and friends who found themselves in a difficult situation at home.

Дестабилизация в Белоруссии: роль стран Балтии

In Belarus, since August 2020, there has been an open confrontation between the Belarusian authorities and the local opposition, which organizes protest actions and seeks to attract the attention of the international community. A number of countries support the opposition and, allegedly advocating its rights interfere in the internal affairs of Belarus. The Baltic states are the most publicly active. The article examines the content of the Baltic intervention in the Belarusian political processes. The method of separate analysis of the motives, grounds and prospects for the participation of the Baltic states in the Belarusian destabilization is used. The results of the study show that the Baltic states do not have effective tools to influence the situation in Belarus, but actively generate support for the opposition, performing a supporting function for the beneficiary countries. The practical conclusion is that Belarus should change the algorithm of bilateral relations with the Baltic states.

Expanding transboundary tourist space – The growing significance of the Augustów Canal

Background: The Belarusian-Polish borderland has great tourism potential but in the same time suffers from many restrictions, especially geopolitical ones. An overall facilitation of foreigners’ trips into Belarus has facilitated the development of cross-border tourism and local resources could be used by tourists. One of the most important tourist attractions is the Augustów Canal. This article seeks to discuss changes made to one border crossing between Poland and Belarus whose location may be considered exceptional, given that it is on the Augustów Canal. Material and methods: Analysis of historical, legal and statistical materials; cartographic analysis and fieldwork. Results: Eased restrictions on crossing the border (i.e. 5 years of gradual, stepwise introduction of visafree regimes and zones by the Belarusian authorities) have combined with the emergence of new possibilities to travel along the Canal by bicycle or on foot to increase numbers of foreign tourists (including Poles) who take advantage of the visa-free opportunities. Conclusions: Opportunities for the development of tourism (especially of a transboundary nature) are influenced by the simultaneous “internationalisation” and “touristification” of border crossings in Belarus’s western borderland area, which serve as a tourist destination of global significance (the Augustów Canal) and/or traffic at the individual-visitor level. The factor of overriding importance encouraging steady enlargement of tourist space and its utilisation either side of the border is the so-called “Brześć-Grodno Space”, as a visa-free continuous corridor for tourism established in the period since November 2019. This allows for visits into western Belarus, in particular in a south-north direction. The Augustów (Augustovsky) Canal and its Rudawka-Lesnaya border crossing are expected to play a particular part in this process.

The Belarusian Theatre Studio in Moscow: 1921–1926

The subject of this study is the work of the Belarusian theatre studio in Moscow from 1921 to 1926. It traces the various periods of the studio’s activities, the process of educational programme design, the attitude of students to study, and the attitude of the Belarusian authorities to the studio. The author had the opportunity to collect valuable material and reconstruct the work of the studio by virtue of the National Archives of the Republic of Belarus, the Academy of Sciences of Belarus, and the Belarusian State Archive-Museum of Literature archival materials, as well as memories of the artists themselves. The studio is the most important event in the history of Belarusian theatre: without the reconstruction of its activities, the picture of the work of the Yakub Kolas National Academic Drama Theatre in Vitebsk would be far from complete. Within five years, the studio raised actors and directors who later began their activities in Belarus. The programme proposed by the actors-pedagogues of the Moscow Art Theatre was innovative for them. An important part of the article is dedicated to Valentin Smyshlyaev, the director of the studio. It is worth remembering that there was no acting school in Belarus at the time and the first professional theatre was not opened until 1920.

Republic of Belarus

At the request of the Belarusian authorities, a technical assistance (TA) mission on sectoral financial accounts and financial balance sheets (FABS) was conducted during November 11–22, 2019. The principal purposes of the mission were to review with the National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus (Belstat) current data sources; identify data sources that needed to be improved; demonstrate how to construct the tables; and prepare a work plan. The mission found that many of the data required are currently available, while pointing out areas where improvements could be made. Accordingly, there is a strong basis for Belstat to begin an initial, exploratory compilation of the FABS for 2017.