President Lukashenka has raised to power as a federal prosecutor of corrupted officials in the first government of newly created Republic of Belarus - including prosecution of the first prime minister - Stanislau Shushkevich. He had played his card on a natural presumption of any Belarusian that politicians are corrupted. He had won popularity not only as a "hero" who rids the government of corruption, but also through his shocking sincerity and straightforwardness. Ever since he came to power as the new head of the government he had created a post of the President of Belarus for himself with enormous rights and privileges. He had delayed his first re-elections by 7 years in an authoritarian way. During these 7 years Belarus has abruptly turned away from weak democratic and market reforms started by a weak liberal Stanislau Shushkevich onto a government controlled economy with a relatively harsh police regime. While in 1994 Belarusian export to foreign countries exceeded for the first time its export to the former USSR republics, this trend has been collapsed by President Lukashenka. A strong pro-Russian position of President Lukashenka was first reflected into complete reversal of Belarusian export from the West in 1994 to Russia and CIS countries nowadays. Most of the Belarusian national liberation trends that were clear in the first years of Shushkevich government has been abolished and prosecuted. The revival of Belarusian language has been specifically targeted by President Lukashenka, who had reversed the already developing transition from Russian to Belarusian. Today's official website of the Belarusian president exists only in Russian and English. There is no Belarusian language version of the site of Belarusian Government! Anything anti-Russian or pro-Belarusian is harshly prosecuted by President Lukashenka and his police. The opposition was routinely prosecuted - followed, searched, intimidated and simply beaten by secret police and armed police units. Journalists were expelled and imprisoned in Belarus. Several important political opponents and critics of Lukashenka has disappeared. After the federal prosecutors investigating the case of disappearings came out on trace of Presidential Security unit in November 2000 an entire power structure of Belarusian state was changed by Lukashenka. While President Lukashenka so far is far from General Pinochet or Miloshevic, strong features of dictatorial regime in Belarus are becoming obvious.

Perhaps some psychological portrait would clarify the President motivations. I personally believe, that President Lukashenka sincerely strives to take peoples living in Belarus to a better future. Before entering political arena, only ten years ago he was a director of collective farm - "Kolhoz". One has to understand specifics of the Kolhoz Directors to understand President Lukashenka. These are typically very strong and authoritarian type of people who consider themselves in charge of and responsible of several thousands of collective farm workers. Each kolhoz is a mini state with it's power station, administrative center, school, hospital, hotel, saunas, sport gyms, residential housing and such. Director is used to decide on everything and take care of everyone. In a sense he is Father or Big Brother to them all. Well, one of such Directors became President in Belarus. He is trying to take care of his farm now. Only the farm has 10 million people and many of them have far more sophisticated views on their life than farm workers. He is often referred as Father - "Batia" in Belarus. There were some rumors in press that Lukashenka had at some point "mosaic phsychopathy". He is definitely behaving paranoic in the past few years.

The hardliner communist type of international politics conducted by Lukashenka has made him an anecdote abroad. He has ridiculed himself in Europe, has accused USA in all possible crimes. Lately Lukashenka's travel in Russia was restricted by Kremlin as a response of criticism of Putin and Russian government that Lukashenka conducts during his "business" travels to Russian province .

The conservative economic course of President Lukashenka had some positive results. Belarus economy, however recessed, is probably the least destroyed one among other former Republics. In 1998 Belarus had a 7% domestic product growth. The living conditions of people in Belarus were rated by UN in 1999 as better than those in Russia. The level of crime is comparatively low. But the two strong negative aspects of Lukashenka economic policy are a) return to dependency on Russia; and b) business law and tax policy that effectively precludes appearance of small and medium private businesses. In some sense Belarusian economic reform is reminding Chinese - restructuring of government owned enterprises with political stagnation and authoritarian government. The distrust of Lukashenka to members of his cabinet results in his inability to surround himself with professionals. As a result Lukashenka is the one who is traveling Russia, former USSR and foreign countries trying to make economic agreements which would save a system of giant state enterprises of Belarus. The oppressive taxation of enterprises kills any legal business initiative other than the one that goes beyond the law, creating a business mafia of a "new-Russian" type.

A political platform of President Lukashenka is the aged population. These people, severely nostalgic of their life in USSR are looking at Russia-Belarus union as the means to roll back 20 years to the époque of "developed socialism". The aged part of population (over 60) is not flexible enough to adapt to market economy. It is paralyzed by fear for their pensions and free government apartments. Indeed, in all of the newly converted to capitalism former socialist states the Social Security System has went bankrupt. Hyperinflation has blown away all savings and while younger generation is flexible enough to adapt, the elderly are severely victimized. All other than Belarus former Soviet Republics demonstrate horrible examples of neglect and indifference to the fate of their aged population every day. And so our pension owners are seeing in Lukashenka the only savior and defender, and in economic stagnation of Belarus - the only way to exist.

Massive violations and falsifications have been detected during the November 2000 elections to Belarusian Parliament. A chain of constitutional violations has already started as preparation  for Belarusian Presidential Elections of September 9, 2001. Recently it was announced that each of Presidential candidates should publicly declare the earnings of him/her and his/her relatives as far as cousins. So far, all candidates has been registered for the first step of campaign. The candidates are forbidden to make public their programs until the second stage of the campaign when 100,000 signatures will be collected by a candidate. At the same time strong Lukashenka propaganda is fed through the government TV and radio on Belarusians.