You have successfully subscribed to the newsletter, https://belarusdigest.com/story/the-european-myth-of-belarusian-socialism/. The health, education and welfare systems are probably the most positive aspects of the Belarusian state. Copyright © 2020 Workers World. An interview with Dmitry Kosmachev, a member of the Minsk Socialist Circle, about the situation in Belarus, the current protests, and where they may lead. Similarly, more and more services in hospitals are no longer free. According to the director of the tourist company BelarusTurService Hennadzi Leushyn, about 80 per cent of tourists come from Russia. Although another presidential decree allowed the employee to get a permanent contract after five years of work, the general picture remains very sad for employees. This is not surprising, since Belarus has an open border with its eastern neighbour and even no passport control. According to Parker, “Lukashenko’s positive opinion of the USSR, as well as the preservation of Soviet national holidays and a rejection of nationalism, have all found favor with the older generation.”. The same flag was also flown by Belarusian counterrevolutionaries during the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. The government may dictate any labour conditions it wishes. According to some insider sources, special sex tours to Belarus are regularly organised from certain Western European states and Turkey. Her supporters and other opponents of the government from various centrist and right-wing parties, poured into the streets to denounce Lukashenko. What are socialist perspectives on Belarus? Opposition protest in Minsk, Belarus August 2020 (Click to enlarge) Clare Doyle, Committee for a Workers' International (CWI) For the fourth Sunday in succession, on September 6 there were mass protests across Belarus. Many Russians come to Belarus to use its growing gambling industry. The only political party that Lukashenko ever belonged to was the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The people of Belarus have long been daunted due to brutal retaliation by the state. Yauheni Preiherman is Policy Director of the Discussion and Analytical Society Liberal Club in Minsk. Otherwise Belarus will largely remain a sex sanctuary for westerners and a gambling destination for Russians. Just business. A special commission confirmed these violations of workers' rights. According to the Belarusian Statistics Committee, in 2011 the highest numbers of western tourists were from Turkey, Lithuania, New Zealand and Poland. Their websites often do not have English language sections. The ideology-free elite wishes to preserve its power without embarking on high-minded idealistic abstractions. And even these students will have to work for two years for very small wages to compensate for their "free education". Their absolute numbers were very small, varying between 2,000 and 3,000. Even fewer come from western countries. While Belarus still maintains features from its socialist history as part of the Soviet Union, it lost other socialist features during and after the USSR’s collapse. Rob Jones, Sotsialisticheskaya Alternativa (ISA in Russia) At the time of writing, protests in Belarus against the obvious falsification of the results of Sunday’s Presidential election seem to be spreading, and are meeting with increasing repression. Socialism requires workers power, and there is no such thing in Belarus. These are both a threat to Belarus’s workers. The author dedicates this article to the memory of Workers World Party founder Rosemary Neidenberg (1921-2020), who requested that he analyze U.S. imperialism’s threat to Belarus. Only 15 per cent of visitors of all the agro-manors in 2011 were from abroad. Perhaps the only sort of incoming tourism from western countries that is developping in Belarus despite any difficulties is sex tourism. By Otis Grotewohl posted on August 17, 2020. Taking advantage of these grievances, Washington and the Belarus opposition use problems caused by the pandemic as a pretext against Belarus’s sovereignty — despite the U.S. government’s own mishandling of the pandemic crisis. In addition, Belarus continues many socialist policies from the days of the Soviet Union. While the Belarusian authorities are talking about the prospects of sex tourism, the inflow of foreign tourists in general remains low. After the Russian authorities outlawed casinos across almost the whole country, Belarus was quick to offer its service. in six languages (Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Georgian, Armenian and Azerbaijani). USSR-era socialist art in Minsk, Belarus, in February 2019. With no significant strikes or other forms of industrial action, Belarus may be a paradise for any investor shrewd enough to cut a deal with Lukashenka. And a German national €60. The trade unions are far from being independent or influential. "We do not cultivate the idea of sex tourism in Belarus. Unlike the other former Soviet republics, Belarus preserved socialist symbols and statues throughout the country. Because of the uncontrolled border with Russia it is difficult to assess the exact number of tourists that come to Belarus, but the estimate for 2011 is around 750,000. It was more expensive than receiving visas at Belarusian consulates abroad, but it saved lots of time. Tourism is a regular issue on the government’s agenda. Some delegates were denied entry to Belarus although the party has frequently taken a moderate position on the European Parliament's resolutions on Belarus. Many of them believe that the Belarusian regime shares their ideology. And it is not surprising, therefore, that even officials have started talking about this business in public, like a deputy Minister of Sports and Tourism did on state television a week ago. 100 Years Later: Some Lessons of the Great Bolshevik Revolution, Fascist violence and the form of the state, No fascist coup! This is the music of the future, but, hopefully, the not-too-distant future. From 5000 to 2000 BC, Bandkeramik cultures predominated. Now that the amendments are in force only residents of the countries with no Belarusian consulates can apply for visas after they arrive at Minsk-2 airport. Several years ago Alexander Lukashenka demanded that Belarus should become a popular destination for tourists from around the world who would bring in lots of hard currency. The Socialist International calls on its members around the world to demand the immediate release of Mikalai Statkevich and others jailed these past days. We examine what this means for (a) its place in the world economy, (b) its place in the transition from capitalism to socialism/communism and (c) its conflict with the US. Parker points out that the first thing Lukashenko did upon election was double the minimum wage. Everyone who has money and wishes for some sexual entertainment knows where to look for it. Belarus’s government has its contradictions. Bad infrastructure and visa routine do not stop sex visitors. But it is definitely becoming a sizeable business. https://belarusdigest.com/story/cartoon-fields/. They exist only as dispensers of welfare as in Soviet times. U.S. imperialist and fascist hands off Belarus! Since the mid-1990s, U.S. imperialism has targeted the Belarus government, which has had cordial relations with other anti-imperialist governments, such as Venezuela and Zimbabwe. Belarusian Social Democrat Anatol Sidarevic pointed out that “Lukashenka with his rhetoric has been and, may be still, considered almost a Socialist.” Belarusian journalists and activists express similar views. As of this writing, the opposition’s future is still hazy. Moreover, on 31 May the government amended the national visa rules. In 1917, Vladimir Lenin and Anatoly Lunacharsky held a competition to create a Soviet emblem. For example, there are only 34 hotels in the whole country that are certified according to international standards. In 2014 Belarus will host the ice hockey World Championship. Read in Russian As Marxists, we understand that the political crisis that is now unfolding in Belarus is not caused by an accidental coincidence of circumstances or the intrigues of certain foreign states. In fact, opportunism is the only suitable term to denote the current Belarusian system. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on his reelection Aug. 9. Corporate media reports that Tikhanovskaya fled to Lithuania on Aug 11. The government ignores most of the ILO's recommendations. But they exist as remnants of Soviet times and are gradually being dismantled as the government gradually cuts costs. Strategic position In 2003, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) launched an investigation into the complaint of Belarusian independent trade unions concerning violations of their rights by the government. Previously, all foreigners could get visas upon arrival at Minsk-2 airport. This is how the deputy Minister of Sports and Tourism Cheslau Shulha recently answered a question about the growing sex industry in Belarus on a state TV channel. Lukashenka has much more in common with Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines and Asian despots  than with Fidel Castro or leftist Latin American rulers. A 1999 presidential decree effectively made much of the Labour Code a dead letter and launched a massive compulsory introduction of temporary contracts to strengthen authoritarian consolidation in the country. Much like Russia, Belarus is a repressive state that makes a mockery of even liberal democracy, keeping some Soviet trappings and customs while abandoning the USSR's egalitarianism. However, the statistics show that the country receives miserable numbers of visitors. The same lack of ideological preoccupation shapes Belarus' foreign policy. Some write about socialism in Belarus, and others call Lukashenka “a spontaneous socialist” or even a social democrat. This system demonstrates merely that the regime only avoids the reforms to maintain control, not that Lukashenka is bringing the nation to socialism. The people have some legitimate grievances against Lukashenko, especially regarding his response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The same applies to the profits. Anti-imperialists and revolutionaries inside the U.S. must oppose any U.S. involvement in other countries’ affairs. If you thought this page is useful to your friend, use this form to send. Pro-Western, anti-Semitic Ukrainian nationalists, including pro-fascist elements inside the “Maidan movement,” carried out this coup. Tikhanovskaya’s spouse, Sergei Tikhanovsky, initially intended to run against Lukashenko, but he was disqualified and arrested for participating in illegal, anti-government activities. Without a socialist alternative emerging from the mass movement the country risks becoming a pawn in the struggles between the larger economic powers. Lukashenka's Regime: Neither Left, Nor Right, and Nor Centre. More than 100,000 … Moreover, the very fact that some services are still free does not make a country a socialist – otherwise most EU countries would be socialist. Belarusian life expectancy is higher than in all former Soviet states with the exception of Georgia.”, Imperialist threats to sovereignty and stability. … Few Belarusian pensioners will have the luxury cars or the latest computers, but they will be able to afford food, fuel and the essentials that allow them to enjoy a peaceful retirement. And from time to time the police crackdown on networks of the sex business. Yet, there was not a single serious ideological project undertaken by the Belarusian government abroad. Belarus has the least employee-friendly employment system in Europe, which strips workers of any protection in their relations with employers. 10 member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States (excluding Turkmenistan). One of them was the development of agro-ecotourism. Eastern Europe Belarus / Belarussian Soviet Socialist Republic The history of Belarus is tied closely to that of Lithuania and Poland. In a recent study, World Bank experts argue that the state production conglomerates let the government hide the losses of some enterprises among profits made by others. However, the industry thrives. The Bolsheviks created a puppet Soviet government of Belarus in Smolensk. Yet hard facts speak for themselves. Their president has been in power for more than 25 years, ever since the Soviet Union fell, and his prior job was managing a socialist collective farm. They play almost no social or labour protection role. Only two of them have 5 stars (hotels Europe and Crowne Plaza in Minsk) and three  have 4 stars (hotels Minsk and Victoria in Minsk and hotel Luchesa in Vitebsk). State-owned enterprises and enterprises partly owned by the government employed c. 1.75 million people, i.e. They provided tax and other incentives for those entrepreneurs who wanted to invest in agro-ecotourism. At the time, Lukashenko warned the people of Belarus about such a movement developing there. To benefit from this event the government should liberalise the tourist industry and free creativity of entrepreneurs from bureaucratic bondage. Belarus boasts a favourable geographical location. At the same time there are very few low-cost hostels anywherein the country (only in Minsk and Brest). This transforms the country into a kind of sweatshop, common in the developing world with cheap and docile labour force, minimal regulations and full freedom of action for employers. Despite frequent declarations, the government have failed to create even basic tourist infrastructure in Belarus. This allows the employer to fire them without explanation after the contract expires. The Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic exists as a government in exile since then. Officially, Belarusian legislation prohibits prostitution. Lukashenka exploits Russian Communists to get leverage in the Kremlin, supported Polish populist Lepper to take revenge on Poland for its support of the Belarusian opposition and befriended Hugo Chavez for good money. Siarhei Bohdan is an associate analyst at the Ostrogorski Centre. This makes the Belarus opposition similar to the pro-capitalist protesters in Hong Kong, which U.S. imperialist politicians and Western white supremacists embrace. No one can be certain of job security. “Maternity leave in Belarus is also extended to those who adopt babies. Edit. Independence from the USSR Fight back with workers’ power, Declaración del Workers World Party/Partido Mundo Obrero. Lukashenko’s main electoral opponent, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who polled around 10% of the vote compared to Lukashenko’s 80%, refused to accept the election outcome. The ruling elite inherited its power from the Soviet state and did not have to struggle for it. 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