During the first years of independence, adherence to the Soviet past and ideology legitimized President Alexander Lukashenko. The socialistic (or pseudo-socialistic) rhetoric of socially oriented market economy, the viability of the revolution’s ideas, limited entrepreneurship, strong state patronage, etc. dominated the Belarusian political life and public opinion. However, quasi-implementation of these ideas required permanent financial allocations which the“socially oriented” and planned Belarusian economy could not generate. When allocations were coming from Russia, everybody was satisfied, including ordinary Belarusians who received their 500 USD salaries and enjoyed state subsidies, as well as Belarusian elites who were able to develop businesses extracting Russian resources and syphoning public funds. [...]
Firstly, after the beginning of the Ukrainian crisis, Belarusian authorities emphasized a national – Belarusian – identity. While the Ukrainian crisis was not the only reason for this change, it definitely intensified the process. Similarly the October Revolution stopped being the only source of the Belarusian statehood and independence with links to the Principalities of Polotsk and Turov, as well as to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania coming into the official discourse. [...]
Socialist rhetoric is also disappearing: salaries are lower and prices higher than in Poland, Lithuania or Ukraine. The last ramparts of socialism – low transport and housing fares, as well as pseudo-free education and medical treatment rest on the chopping block.
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