Search -
The Last Soviet Republic: Alexander Lukashenko's Belarus
The Last Soviet Republic Alexander Lukashenko's Belarus Author:Stewart Parker Alexander Lukashenko was elected President of Belarus in 1994 with a landslide victory. He was a rank outsider, and stood as an independent candidate, with no political party or institution behind him. — Since election he has created policies based on the principle of improving the quality of life for the broadest number of Belarusian citizens, '... more »the state for the people'.
However this approach has led to huge criticism from abroad culminating in 2004 with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice declaring Belarus to be an 'Outpost of Tyranny'.
This book examines the history of Belarus from the days as part of the Russian Empire through to the present day. The Pale of Settlement, the 1917 Revolution, the Stalin era and the Second World War are all covered from the Belarusian perspective. The impact and influence of this history, and particularly of the Soviet Union on Belarus has been a huge factor in deciding the direction and priorities of Belarusians.
Lukashenko has been called the 'last dictator in Europe' and this book explores the reality of Belarusian social policy, human rights, and the colossal level of external interference in the democratic process in Belarus.
Compiled from a wide range of sources and crucially from open-ended interviews with Belarusian people themselves this book is essential for a genuine understanding of the subject, and the social model that independent Human Rights groups have suggested ought not to be criticised but instead adopted elsewhere.« less