'Europe's last dictator' raises the stakes with the West

3 years ago 251

MOSCOW – For astir of his 27 years arsenic Belarus’ authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko’s repressions and truculent statements often offended the West. This year, that belligerence is straight affecting Europe.

His authorities forcefully diverted an airliner flying betwixt Greece and Lithuania that was carrying a governmental opponent. As the European Union imposed sanctions for that action, Belarus responded by easing its borderline controls for migrants from the Middle East and Africa, allowing them to caput for the EU frontier.

That has forced Poland, Latvia and Lithuania to state a authorities of exigency successful their borderline zones to halt amerciable crossings. Warsaw has sent thousands of riot constabulary and troops to bolster security, starring to tense confrontations.

Lukashenko has since raised the stakes by threatening to chopped disconnected earthy state shipments from Russia that transit Belarus — a perchance terrible stroke to Europe arsenic wintertime settles in.

The moves are a melodramatic escalation for Lukashenko, who became president successful 1994 erstwhile Belarus was an obscure state that had existed little than 3 years.

His disdain for antiauthoritarian norms and the country’s dismal quality rights grounds has made Belarus a pariah successful the West, bringing him the sobriquet of “Europe’s past dictator.”

The 67-year-old Lukashenko prefers to beryllium styled arsenic “Batka” — “Father” oregon “Dad” — a stern but omniscient patriarch.

Although helium has made occasional moves toward rapprochement with the West, Lukashenko abandoned conciliation aft monolithic demonstrations roseate up against him successful 2020 pursuing an predetermination to a sixth word arsenic president. The opposition, and galore successful the West, rejected the result arsenic rigged.

Tens of thousands of protesters were arrested, galore of them beaten by police; main absorption figures either fled the state oregon were jailed; overseas journalists were driven out; and mean citizens reportedly were arrested for “unauthorized wide gatherings,” that included adjacent day parties.

By suppressing absorption done specified harsh actions, on with keeping overmuch of the system nether authorities control, Belarus has go a neo-Soviet outlier, wary of its thriving NATO and EU neighbors. He alternately quarreled with and cozied up to Russia.

He’s noted for mercurial actions and provocative statements, which a leaked U.S. diplomatic cablegram assessed arsenic outright “bizarre.”

In 2006, helium threatened protesters by saying helium would “wring their necks similar a duck.” He besides attracted uneasy announcement this twelvemonth successful a Christmas play TV interrogation erstwhile helium fto his fluffy small canine locomotion connected the array among the festive dishes.

His draconian dramatics spiked successful May, erstwhile helium ordered a Lithuania-bound Ryanair jetliner diverted to Minsk and arrested self-exiled absorption writer Raman Pratasevich, who was aboard. Belarusian authorities said the enactment was taken aft a weaponry menace was made against the plane, but Western officials dismissed that arsenic a preposterous effort to disguise what they called an enactment of piracy.

The strapping Lukashenko presents a tough-guy representation by often playing crystal hockey, including a outpouring 2020 outing wherever helium dismissed the coronavirus by asking a TV newsman if she saw immoderate viruses “flying around” successful the arena. He besides advised Belarusians to “kill the microorganism with vodka,” spell to saunas and enactment successful the fields to debar infection, saying “Tractors volition cure everybody!”

Once well-regarded by his countrymen arsenic an anti-corruption leader, Lukashenko mislaid their spot done decades of jailing opponents, stifling autarkic media and holding elections that gave him word aft word successful power.

Protests had breached retired aft immoderate of the balloting, but not sizable oregon sustained capable to agelong withstand club-swinging constabulary and wide detentions. Only aft the 2020 ballot did his opponents look to harness the discontent: The economical deterioration and Lukashenko’s cavalier refusal to enactment against COVID-19 added to their semipermanent dismay.

The protests lasted for months, petering retired lone erstwhile wintertime acceptable in. But authorities didn’t fto up, reportedly arresting radical for nary evident origin oregon connected pretenses specified arsenic wearing covering successful the red-and-white colors of the opposition.

Lukashenko was calved successful a Belarusian colony and followed a accepted way for an ambitious provincial Soviet. After graduating from an cultivation academy, helium became a governmental teacher successful the borderline defender work and yet roseate to manager of a corporate farm. In 1990, helium became a subordinate of the Belarusian Supreme Soviet, the republic’s parliament.

He was its lone subordinate successful 1991 to ballot against the dissolution of the Soviet Union. When helium won the caller country’s archetypal statesmanlike predetermination 3 years later, helium appeared successful galore ways to beryllium stuck successful time, keeping Belarus arsenic an eerie and dysfunctional Soviet vestige.

While neighboring ex-Soviet republics adapted to capitalism, Lukashenko kept overmuch of the Belarusian system nether authorities control. That initially won him enactment due to the fact that Belarusians did not endure the symptom of “shock therapy” economical restructuring.

But ossified authorities power of industries couldn't support up with the market's vigor and flexibility; the Belarusian ruble was forced into repeated devaluations, and arsenic of 2020, the mean monthly wage was a paltry $480.

The country’s main information bureau retained its symbolically baleful acronym of KGB. He besides pushed a referendum that made the caller nationalist emblem astir identical to the 1 Belarus utilized arsenic a Soviet republic.

Belarus inactive has superior punishment, dissimilar each different state successful Europe, adjacent echoing Soviet show-trial executions that instrumentality astir 2 minutes successful all: The captive is reportedly brought to a room, told each appeals person been rejected, forced to kneel and past changeable successful the backmost of the head.

When Lukashenko became president, Belarus had small acquisition of being an autarkic country; arsenic a Soviet republic, it had been a portion of different empires with lone a little effort astatine sovereignty aft World War I. Sandwiched betwixt Russia to the eastbound and reformist, Western-looking Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, Belarus was successful a strategical position.

Lukashenko leaned powerfully east. In 1997, helium signed an statement with Russia connected forming a “union state” of adjacent economic, subject and governmental ties, but stopped abbreviated of a afloat merger.

The statement bolstered the system successful Belarus, which depends heavy connected Russian lipid astatine below-market prices. But Lukashenko harbored beliefs that Russia aimed to yet instrumentality implicit Belarus entirely, and helium was progressively vocal astir them.

As protests roiled the state successful 2020 and Western unit increased, Lukashenko had obscurity to crook for assistance but Moscow. Putin said helium would beryllium consenting to nonstop constabulary to Belarus if demonstrations turned violent, but helium ne'er made that move.

This year, Lukashenko and Putin announced a wide scope of agreements to solidify the national state, including a associated subject doctrine. Although the agreements substantially summation Russia’s power successful Belarus, Lukashenko besides gains assurance of support.

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