Belarus: A Country Under Authoritarian Rule?

Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It has been described as Europe's last dictatorship, with President Alexander Lukashenko being labelled “Europe's last dictator” by some media outlets, politicians and authors.

Lukashenko has been the president of Belarus since 1994, when he was elected in the country's first and only free election after independence. Since then, he has maintained a highly centralised and authoritarian government, with human rights violations, persecution of non-governmental organisations, independent journalists, national minorities and opposition politicians. Belarus ranks low in international measurements of freedom of the press and civil liberties.

The 2020 presidential election, in which Lukashenko sought a sixth term in office, was widely disputed, with tens of thousands of demonstrators taking to the streets to contest the results. Neighbouring countries Poland and Lithuania do not recognise Lukashenko as the legitimate president of Belarus.

Belarus' authoritarian leader tightens control over the country's religious groups

Belarus is an authoritarian state with a highly centralized government. Its first and only freely elected president, Alexander Lukashenko, has been in power since 1994. Lukashenko has been described as "Europe's last dictator" by some media outlets, politicians, and authors.

In January 2024, Lukashenko signed a law that significantly tightened control over various religious denominations and organizations. The law mandates that all religious groups reapply for state registration, which authorities can refuse. It also gives authorities broad powers to deny registration and shut down any religious organization. To be registered, a religious group must have at least one parish that has operated in Belarus for at least 30 years. All denominations and groups must reapply for registration within a year. The law also prohibits those accused of involvement in extremist or terrorist activities from running a religious organization and bans the use of any symbols other than religious ones in church services. It also outlaws any gatherings in churches other than for a service.

This law is part of Lukashenko's crackdown on dissent, which intensified after the disputed 2020 presidential election that gave him a sixth term in office. The government arrested more than 35,000 protesters, and thousands were beaten in custody. Since 2022, involvement in unregistered organizations has been a criminal offense, punishable by up to two years in prison.

According to official data in 2023, there were 3,417 religious groups registered in Belarus, a country of about 9.5 million people. About 80% are Orthodox Christians, nearly 14% are Catholics, and about 2% belong to Protestant churches. During the 2020 anti-government protests, some Catholic and Protestant churches gave shelter and support to demonstrators.

The Rev. Zmitser Khvedaruk, a Protestant pastor, expressed concern that "Protestant churches in Belarus will become the main target of the new law" and that many will have to "cease their activities or return to the dark Soviet times." Analysts say the Belarusian authorities are seeking to tighten control over the entire public sphere ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections in the next two years.

Natallia Vasilevich, coordinator of the Christian Vision monitoring group, stated that "the new law is repressive and doesn't conform to international standards of freedom of conscience."

Belarus' authoritarian ruler will face token challengers in the presidential vote

Belarus is an Eastern European country that has been ruled by Alexander Lukashenko since 1994. Lukashenko, who has been deemed "Europe's last dictator", leads a highly centralized and authoritarian government.

In the country's first and only free election after independence, Lukashenko was elected as Belarus's first president. Since then, he has been re-elected several times, with the most recent election taking place in 2020, which was rejected by the opposition and the West as rigged and triggered massive nationwide protests. The demonstrations led to a sweeping crackdown on dissent, resulting in about 65,000 arrests.

Now, as Lukashenko seeks a seventh term in the upcoming January 2025 election, Belarus's election commission has allowed seven politicians loyal to the president to start collecting signatures to run against him. These include Sergei Syrankov of the Communist Party, Oleg Gaidukevich of the Liberal Democratic Party, and former Interior Ministry spokeswoman Olga Chеmоdanova. Each candidate is required to collect at least 100,000 signatures by December 6 to enter the race.

However, the commission refused to register initiative groups for two opposition politicians who also aspired to join the race. One of them is Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who is currently in exile after challenging Lukashenko in the 2020 election. She has denounced the upcoming vote as a farce and urged Belarusians to vote against all candidates.

The upcoming election will be held amid a relentless crackdown on dissent, with over 1,400 political prisoners currently behind bars, including leaders of opposition parties and renowned human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022. The election will also take place without observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which Belarus refused to invite for the first time.

Independent political analyst Valery Karbalevich noted that the election format ensures a predetermined outcome, as Lukashenko fears a replay of the 2020 protests. He described the election as a "dress rehearsal" for the presidential vote in 2025, stating that the "model resembling a military operation" will likely be used again.

Belarus has been described as 'Europe's last dictatorship'

Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It has been described as "Europe's last dictatorship", with President Alexander Lukashenko being labelled "Europe's last dictator" by some media outlets, politicians and authors.

Belarus gained independence in 1991, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Lukashenko was elected as the country's first president in 1994, in what was Belarus's first and only free election after independence. Since then, Lukashenko has maintained a highly centralized and authoritarian government, and has been re-elected five times, with the most recent election taking place in 2020.

The 2020 election was widely disputed, with tens of thousands of demonstrators taking to the streets to contest the results. Lukashenko was declared the winner with 80% of the vote, but independent monitors were not allowed inside the voting locations, and there are reports of voter suppression and myriad other violations. The election resulted in mass protests and a crackdown on dissent by the government, with about 65,000 people arrested.

Lukashenko's regime has been characterised by repression, co-optation, and legitimation. Repression has taken the form of selective and intermittent targeting of the regime's political opponents, civil activists, journalists, and others who question the current system. Co-optation has involved providing benefits to certain groups to convince them not to question the system, such as a social contract that guarantees stability, order, and financial security in exchange for loyalty. Legitimation has been achieved by getting people to justify, accept, or tolerate the current regime, for example, by portraying the political opposition as a threat to the stability of the country.

Belarus has continued several Soviet-era policies, such as state ownership of large sections of the economy, and is the only European country that continues to use capital punishment. It has also been criticised for human rights violations, including the persecution of non-governmental organisations, independent journalists, national minorities, and opposition politicians. Belarus ranks low in international measurements of freedom of the press and civil liberties.

Belarus is the only European country that continues to use capital punishment

Belarus has maintained several Soviet-era policies, such as state ownership of large sections of the economy, and has been referred to as "Europe's last dictatorship". The country is ruled by Alexander Lukashenko, who has served as president since 1994, following the country's first and only free election after independence. Lukashenko has been accused of human rights violations and the persecution of non-governmental organizations, independent journalists, national minorities, and opposition politicians.

The use of capital punishment in Belarus is indicative of the country's authoritarian nature and its deviation from European norms. It is worth noting that Belarus is not the only country in the world that continues to use capital punishment, but it is the only European country to do so. This sets Belarus apart from its neighboring countries and has led to international condemnation and sanctions.

The Belarusian government has justified its use of capital punishment as a necessary measure to maintain law and order. However, human rights organizations and international observers have criticized the country's judicial system, arguing that it lacks independence and is subject to political interference. There have also been concerns raised about the transparency and fairness of the legal process in Belarus, with allegations of forced confessions and a lack of access to legal representation.

The European Union, the Council of Europe, and other international organizations have repeatedly called on Belarus to abolish the death penalty and establish a moratorium on executions as a first step towards its abolition. Despite these efforts, Belarus has continued to carry out executions, with the most recent one taking place in 2023.

The use of capital punishment in Belarus remains a contentious issue and is often cited as an example of the country's authoritarian rule and its departure from European values and human rights norms.

Belarus has the lowest Democracy Index rating in Europe

Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is Europe's only country that continues to use capital punishment. It has been described as "Europe's last dictatorship", with a highly centralized and authoritarian government. Belarus has the lowest Democracy Index rating in Europe, ranking high on gender equality but low in freedom of the press and civil liberties.

The country's president, Alexander Lukashenko, has been in power since 1994, making him the longest-serving head of state in Europe. Lukashenko has been described as an "authoritarian leader" who has dominated Belarusian politics and consolidated his power through socioeconomic co-optation and violent persecution of all political opponents. Lukashenko's government has been accused of rigging elections, cracking down on pro-democracy protests, and violently assaulting and arbitrarily detaining journalists and ordinary citizens who challenge the regime.

The Belarusian government has continued several Soviet-era policies, such as state ownership of large sections of the economy, and has been criticized for human rights violations, persecution of non-governmental organizations, and a lack of independence in the judiciary. The country's performance across all Global State of Democracy (GSoD) categories of democracy is low, with significant declines in factors of participation, rights, and rule of law over the last five years.

The sole exception to Belarus' tightly managed economic history was in its IT sector, which saw rapid growth and international success in the 2010s. This success fueled the growth of a largely Lukashenko-skeptic urban middle class, which, together with independent trade unions, proved to be one of the key drivers of the months-long nationwide protests demanding the resignation of Lukashenko following the 2020 presidential election.

As a result of the 2020 protests and the subsequent crackdown, Belarus is now diplomatically isolated from every country in the region, except Russia, and has become increasingly implicated in Russia's full-scale war on Ukraine. Given its near-total dependence on Russia, Belarus's political future is tied to the unpredictable outcome of this conflict. In the absence of a sea change in regional politics, the ongoing declines in participation, rights, and rule of law are likely to continue as the Lukashenko regime expands the scope and scale of its repression to maintain control over the public.

Frequently asked questions