This Week in History

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CWA # 1411, 28 July 2024
This Week in History
20 July 1994: Lukashenko becomes the President of Belarus

  Govind Anoop

On 20 July 1994, Alexander Lukashenko became the President of Belarus. Lukashenko positioned himself as an independent candidate with a populist base, independent of Rightist or Leftist agendas.  He promised to fight against the alleged corruption present in the ruling Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR, whose chairperson at the time, Stanislav Shushkevich stepped down due to a vote of no-confidence in 1993, which led to the elections. 

The rise of Lukashenko
In the early 1990s, while the newly independent former Communist countries west of Belarus showed strong enthusiasm to rejoin Europe after decades behind the "Iron Curtain," the Belarusian national leadership faced a more formidable battle to break away from the Soviet Union. 

As the USSR collapsed and the Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR, a rubber stamp for the Communist Party of Belarus, lost a vote of confidence, a new Constitution was formed and the very first democratic elections were called for. On 23 June 1994, when the first round of the elections happened, Lukashenko won 45.1 per cent of the votes, defeating both former Prime Minister Vyacheslav Kebich and Leader of Belarus Populist Front, Zianon Pazniak while Shushkevuch received less than 10 per cent of the votes. In the second round of polls that happened on 10 July 1994, Lukashenko had a comprehensive win, pulling over 80 percent of the votes and 10 days later, was sworn in as the President of Belarus.

Lukashenko, the President
A few days after his induction as President, Lukashenko put forth a proposal to create a Union of Slavic States, which was to result in the Union of Russia and Belarus in 1999. On 11 April 1995, a vote was held in the Belarusian Parliament calling for a vote for the referendum proposed by Lukashenko on the following issues: making Russian the state language; shanging the Symbols of State: improving economic ties with Russia; and to give the President the Right to dissolve the Parliament

Due to Russification of Belarus being a controversial topic, the deputies rejected all the issues except for those that focused on economic ties with Russia. Due to the Constitution’s vague rules on the President’s Rights to call for referendums independently, Lukashenko held the referendum despite protests from the deputies.

Following the referendum, a second referendum took place in 1996 where Lukashenko dissolved the Parliament consisting of elected officials and replaced it with a few of his handpicked loyalists. In doing so, Lukashenko forced Belarus to abandon any form of democratic Governance and begin its journey into the totalitarian leadership that it sees today. In 1999, the unexplained death of Gennady Karpenko, the uncontested and popular Leader of the Opposition, along the disappearances of leading opposition figures Yuri Zaharenko and Victor Gonchar and of Anatoly Krassovsky showed that the regime had turned to dealing with opposition in a physical manner. In 2001, after having extended his term for a further five years, Lukashenko laid the groundwork to evolve his reign from authoritarian to totalitarian. The aspects which were seen since 2001 in Belarus included the absence of a separation of powers, monopoly over the media with strict censorship policies along with propaganda being the norm, a suppressive security system that hunts down the opposition of the ruling party, internal and external and the denial of the existence of a legitimate opposition party. Under Lukashenko’s leadership, Belarus maintained close ties with Russia, relying on it for economic and military support. Relations with the European Union and the United States have been strained due to human rights concerns and authoritarian governance. China, however, sees Belarus as a strategic partner in its Belt and Road Initiative.

About the author
Govind Anoop is an Undergraduate Student at St Joseph's University, Bengaluru. 

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