Authoritarian Playbook. How Lukashenka remains in power.
Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW)
31,460 views
Alexander Lukashenka has been the President of Belarus since 1994. Despite crises, protests, and foreign sanctions, he remains in office, and nothing suggests that anything or anyone is capable of threatening his position. The fact that he has ruled the country for so long is no accident.
We’ll look at the authoritarian playbook Lukashenka uses to rule the country and keep himself in power, remaining Europe's last dictator.
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20 Comments
A few things I would like to add as an activist and former political prisoner:
1. Technologies used by the regime, such as facial recognition systems, are developed and operated by private companies controlled by the siloviki. I was arrested with the help of facial recognition technology developed by the company Synesis, tortured, and sentenced to five years in prison. Synesis is a private company run by a former KGB officer.
2. If you are a political prisoner, there is no certainty that you will be released when your sentence ends. You may remain behind bars until a political decision is made to release you. To legally extend prison terms, the authorities use Article 411 of the Criminal Code, “Malicious disobedience to the requirements of the administration of a correctional institution.” They can add another year or two to your sentence and do so repeatedly, potentially indefinitely.
3. In prisons and penal colonies, the regime operates a sophisticated system designed to traumatize political prisoners both psychologically and physically. They cannot simply execute everyone, as they did in the 1930s, so instead they do their best to ensure that those who are eventually released are no longer capable of engaging in political activism.
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Authoritarian Playbook. How Lukashenka remains in power.
Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW)
31,460 views
Alexander Lukashenka has been the President of Belarus since 1994. Despite crises, protests, and foreign sanctions, he remains in office, and nothing suggests that anything or anyone is capable of threatening his position. The fact that he has ruled the country for so long is no accident.
We’ll look at the authoritarian playbook Lukashenka uses to rule the country and keep himself in power, remaining Europe's last dictator.
🔵 Subscribe and turn on notifications 🔔 so you don't miss any videos: @centreforeasternstudies
🔵 Follow us on Twitter: Twitter: OSW_eng
➡️ More OSW long-form reports and analysis in English here: https://www.osw.waw.pl/en