Back on August 17, 2020, shocked by a week of powerful post-election protests, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko openly conceded he had overstayed his welcome at the helm of power and promised the workers of the rebellious Wheel Tractor Factory a new national constitution and early elections. “Listen, I have been in power for a quarter of a century. How long can I last? Obviously, I will leave one day. Maybe in a year or two – it depends on you.” This phrase, “depends on you,” was on target, observes Alexander Klaskovsky, a veteran opposition journalist. “The workers did not dare to go on a national strike in August, let alone in October, when Svetlana Tikhanovskaya [the former presidential hopeful] called for it. Today, the counter-revolution is triumphant, and now even legislatively the screws will be tightened so one will be able to invoke a strike.” Klaskovsky also admits Lukashenko looks much more confident than a couple of months ago. Thus, constitutional changes and the long-serving Belarusian president’s retirement have been, at best, moved to the back burner.
OP-ED
Grigory Ioffe: Belarusian realities
Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko signs a document during his inauguration ceremony in Minsk on Sept. 23, 2020.
