johng
Labour
Posts: 4,850 
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Post by johng on Jul 29, 2020 21:47:06 GMT
I can't believe there isn't a thread for this election yet. I've been looking forward to it for the last five years.
It's a real nail-biter as each of the five vetted candidates will appear on the ballot paper.
The opposition reached new heights in the 2015 election with the main opposition candidate even managing to exceed 4%.
Alexander Lukashenko must have the edge this time though. He's found the uniquely Belarusian cure to Covid19 - copious amounts of vodka and daily visits to the banya. I've been following his advice and haven't died yet - my eyesight is starting to go funny though.
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Post by greenhert on Jul 29, 2020 22:25:32 GMT
This will be just another show election for Belarus.
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Post by Devil Wincarnate on Jul 29, 2020 22:48:59 GMT
I know one person who has been to Minsk. He described it as being surprisingly dull for sich a weird place.
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johng
Labour
Posts: 4,850
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Post by johng on Jul 30, 2020 0:11:22 GMT
I know one person who has been to Minsk. He described it as being surprisingly dull for sich a weird place. It is a relatively boring city. It was basically flattened during WW2 so there's nothing of historical note. There are some grand Soviet buildings in the centre, but there's nothing else really.
Belarus, thanks to the leadership of comrade President Lukashenko, is a very cheap place to visit though.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2020 4:17:11 GMT
Surely the word "election" should be in quotes?
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Post by Devil Wincarnate on Jul 30, 2020 7:23:38 GMT
Surely the word "election" should be in quotes? Electoral-type event is the favoured parlance here! |
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Post by Devil Wincarnate on Jul 30, 2020 7:32:28 GMT
I know one person who has been to Minsk. He described it as being surprisingly dull for sich a weird place. It is a relatively boring city. It was basically flattened during WW2 so there's nothing of historical note. There are some grand Soviet buildings in the centre, but there's nothing else really.
Belarus, thanks to the leadership of comrade President Lukashenko, is a very cheap place to visit though.
It sounds like Basingstoke. |
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CatholicLeft
Labour
2032 posts until I was "accidentally" deleted.
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Post by CatholicLeft on Jul 30, 2020 8:45:07 GMT
This is turning out to be the most significant Presidential election since Lukashenko first came to power with Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, whose husband was one of several potential candidates recently imprisoned, making a decent fist of a campaign with major rallies and feeding into a growing unhappiness with the regime.
Lukashenko is more unpopular than he has ever been and it is going to be a tough ask to completely rig this election with Belarus needing the support of the EU as Lukashenko has fallen out with Putin and this has led to him relying on the West.
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Post by Devil Wincarnate on Jul 30, 2020 9:57:07 GMT
This is turning out to be the most significant Presidential election since Lukashenko first came to power with Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, whose husband was one of several potential candidates recently imprisoned, making a decent fist of a campaign with major rallies and feeding into a growing unhappiness with the regime. Lukashenko is more unpopular than he has ever been and it is going to be a tough ask to completely rig this election with Belarus needing the support of the EU as Lukashenko has fallen out with Putin and this has led to him relying on the West. Lukashenko's falling-out with Putin has been quite astounding. It says something that Putin isn't that bothered about the once ultra-loyal leader of a country that essentially never wanted to leave the embrace of Mother Russia. |
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The Bishop
Labour
Down With Factionalism!
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Post by The Bishop on Jul 30, 2020 10:24:44 GMT
There has indeed been some significant opposition agitation recently despite the inevitable official repression, maybe the most since Luka's early days.
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johng
Labour
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Post by johng on Jul 30, 2020 11:51:26 GMT
The relationship has been on the wane for quite some time. At the end of the day, for Russia, Belarus is at worst minor nuisance. Putin has little need for Lukashenko. Lukashenko certainly has a need for a Russia though. Belarus has few natural resources. That sort of ties him to Russia and ensures he doesn't go against Russian interests.
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Post by Devil Wincarnate on Jul 30, 2020 12:07:02 GMT
The relationship has been on the wane for quite some time. At the end of the day, for Russia, Belarus is at worst minor nuisance. Putin has little need for Lukashenko. Lukashenko certainly has a need for a Russia though. Belarus has few natural resources. That sort of ties him to Russia and ensures he doesn't go against Russian interests. Let's say Lukashenko eventually bows out- is there any scope for the Union State to turn into a full reunification of Russia and Belarus in the future? |
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johng
Labour
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Post by johng on Jul 30, 2020 13:19:13 GMT
I think it's rather unlikely. It'd be an absorption rather than a union. Lukashenko has been trying to grow Belarusian identity over the last few years as well. If you visit Minsk, you'll notice all government signs are now transliterated from Belarusian which is a nightmare when guidebooks and the private sector transliterate from Russian.
There was some talk that it would allow Putin to justify a new constitution so he could rule for a further 14 years. That problem has gone now though. Lukashenko is grooming his son, Nikolai, to take over as president. He's is only in his mid-teens so he has to remain president for a while longer.
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Post by Devil Wincarnate on Aug 2, 2020 9:55:20 GMT
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Post by Delighted Of Tunbridge Wells on Aug 5, 2020 23:14:04 GMT
It is a relatively boring city. It was basically flattened during WW2 so there's nothing of historical note. There are some grand Soviet buildings in the centre, but there's nothing else really.
Belarus, thanks to the leadership of comrade President Lukashenko, is a very cheap place to visit though.
It sounds like Basingstoke. While I do detest it, B-stoke isn't that bad for historical buildings. It managed to keep a bit of the old town centre. Andover is worse I believe. |
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Post by Delighted Of Tunbridge Wells on Aug 5, 2020 23:18:25 GMT
This is turning out to be the most significant Presidential election since Lukashenko first came to power with Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, whose husband was one of several potential candidates recently imprisoned, making a decent fist of a campaign with major rallies and feeding into a growing unhappiness with the regime. Lukashenko is more unpopular than he has ever been and it is going to be a tough ask to completely rig this election with Belarus needing the support of the EU as Lukashenko has fallen out with Putin and this has led to him relying on the West. Are they looking to join the EU or are they too closely aligned to Russia? Or,a more portent question to ask is will Russia let them join the EU,whether they want to or not? |
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cj
Socialist
These fragments I have shored against my ruins
Posts: 3,285
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Post by cj on Aug 5, 2020 23:29:30 GMT
This is turning out to be the most significant Presidential election since Lukashenko first came to power with Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, whose husband was one of several potential candidates recently imprisoned, making a decent fist of a campaign with major rallies and feeding into a growing unhappiness with the regime. Lukashenko is more unpopular than he has ever been and it is going to be a tough ask to completely rig this election with Belarus needing the support of the EU as Lukashenko has fallen out with Putin and this has led to him relying on the West. Are they looking to join the EU or are they too closely aligned to Russia? Or,a more portent question to ask is will Russia let them join the EU,whether they want to or not? Not a chance. |
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Post by Delighted Of Tunbridge Wells on Aug 5, 2020 23:35:16 GMT
Are they looking to join the EU or are they too closely aligned to Russia? Or,a more portent question to ask is will Russia let them join the EU,whether they want to or not? Not a chance. I thought that too, because of their response to Ukraine's exploration into EU membership,but maybe Russia's military power is waning as China takes the stage. |
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Post by Arthur Figgis on Aug 5, 2020 23:59:33 GMT
This is turning out to be the most significant Presidential election since Lukashenko first came to power with Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, whose husband was one of several potential candidates recently imprisoned, making a decent fist of a campaign with major rallies and feeding into a growing unhappiness with the regime. Lukashenko is more unpopular than he has ever been and it is going to be a tough ask to completely rig this election with Belarus needing the support of the EU as Lukashenko has fallen out with Putin and this has led to him relying on the West. Are they looking to join the EU or are they too closely aligned to Russia? Or,a more portent question to ask is will Russia let them join the EU,whether they want to or not? They're not planning on leaving the Soviet Union, let alone joining the European Union. |
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cj
Socialist
These fragments I have shored against my ruins
Posts: 3,285
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Post by cj on Aug 6, 2020 0:01:09 GMT
I thought that too, because of their response to Ukraine's exploration into EU membership,but maybe Russia's military power is waning as China takes the stage. The expression from my cold dead hands comes to my mind, I could imagine a future where parts of the resource laden eastern wilderness falling under a Chinese sphere of influence easier than I could imagine the loss of Little Russia, far too tied into the national mythology.
Well unless in such a scenario the resurgence of The Middle Kingdom made the Russia itself finally follow the path of Peter and turn to Europe itself
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