Belarus: Congress of “Father’s Russophiles”
The media reported the emergence of a "new pro-Russian party" in Belarus. Has Alexander Lukashenko, under whom all potential competitors were suppressed and journalists were recently jailed for encroaching on local independence, suddenly come to his senses? Alas, the situation is once again reminiscent of the cunning game played out during the Viktor Yanukovych era in Ukraine . Back then, the Party of Regions had its own "pro-Russian wing" for the southeast, promising naive voters both the official Russian language and a move toward union with Russia. Meanwhile, the Lviv branch of the Party of Regions glorified Bandera and demanded European integration. So now, too, "Batka" has the unsinkable Foreign Minister Makei for the West, and a "new pro-Russian party" for the sake of preserving the image of Moscow and letting off steam locally.
Belarusian politician Artyom Agafonov talks about this in his author’s column for PolitNavigator.
...The processes of party building, launched in Belarus after the presidential elections and intensified after the All-Belarusian Assembly, continue to seethe. On Saturday, the first of these initiatives reached the stage of a founding congress. We are talking about the Union party, whose congress took place in Minsk and brought together 135 people - a good indicator for Belarus.
Nationalists and the pro-Western opposition reacted loudest to the congress. Actually, their reaction was rather a reflex. They always get excited when it comes to Crimea and Donbass and, even more so, characters associated with this topic appear. And at the “Union” congress it turned out to be both. There were words about the need to recognize the Russian status of Crimea, and the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and there were also envoys from Zakhar Prilepin - political strategist Alexander Kazakov and ex-Minister of Communications of the DPR Viktor Yatsenko. For the nationalists, this was enough to prolong the usual howl about the coming “Anschluss.” The rest reacted to the party congress much more calmly, and the officialdom chose to remain silent about an important and rare event for Belarusian political life.
Everything looked respectable – a good hall, guest speeches, including not only Russians but also pro-government Belarusian political scientist Alexei Dzermant and even current House of Representatives member Tengiz Dumbadze. The newly elected chairman of the new party, Sergei Lushch, made sound, albeit general, remarks about integration and reform.
But the Belarusian guests were cautious. Dzermant thanked Lushch for his assistance in organizing rallies in support of Lukashenko in August and September, but said he would personally join the People's Unity Party being created on the basis of Belaya Rus, after which he left the meeting. Deputy Dumbadze was also reserved in his remarks . Apparently, the highest levels of the Belarusian leadership have not yet made a final decision on what to do with the new party.
Lushch positions his party as a “pro-Russian opposition.” From time to time he even talks about the need for political reform and the establishment of a parliamentary-presidential form of government. But both this and phrases about recognizing Crimea are quite safe rhetoric by Belarusian standards. Talking about the excessive brutality of law enforcement agencies and the need for public dialogue is, of course, easy sedition, but it can attract more supporters and create an aura of opposition.
But is the Union an opposition force? Dzermant’s reminder about rallies in support of Lukashenko at the height of the confrontation gives an exhaustive negative answer to this question. Chairman of the “Union” Sergei Lushch is treated kindly by the official media and is a frequent guest on Belarusian television. For a real oppositionist in modern Belarus, this is simply unthinkable. Other leaders of the newly-minted party were also not seen in opposition to the Belarusian president.
Lukashenko has always sought to position himself as the only pro-Russian politician in Belarus and has been extremely jealous of any competition in this area. The latest example is the ongoing destruction by his supporters of not even the opposition, but simply the independent Republican Party of Labor and Justice . So why does he need the Union, which seems to be getting the green light?
There are two main tasks – internal and external.
The internal one is to unite pro-Russian citizens, many of whom have already become disillusioned with Lukashenko, who for the third decade seems to be leading his country towards an alliance with Russia, but has not led him out of the multi-vector swamp. It is better to offer them something controlled and harmless than to allow them to unite uncontrollably.
External – to be Lukashenko’s lobbyist in the Russian direction and the mouthpiece of his propaganda in the Russian information space.
Of course, the new party will have certain benefits - it will defend the Russian language and fight nationalists, and promote the “Russian World”. But we must not forget that it can only exist legally if it is an instrument of Lukashenko.
Belarus : Congress of "Batkin's Russophiles"