ZOiS Report 6/2020 State-society relations in Belarus have been tense for many years. The presidential elections in August 2020 and the mishandling of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic have proved to be the catalyst that brought these fragile relations to a complete breakdown. Over the years, the widening gap between a new generation of an emancipated citizenry and a regime stuck in predominantly paternalistic power structures and reluctant to engage in political and economic reforms has become increasingly evident. The deteriorating economy during the last decade and the perceived decline of the country’s social welfare system have been important factors in these developments. At the same time, the regime has continued to invest in its domestic security structures to a disproportionate extent compared with neighbouring states, allowing the so-called silovye struktury (“state power structures”) to gain influence at the highest level of state governance. (…)

Am 28. Oktober 2012 fanden in der Ukraine die Wahlen zum Parlament statt. Erst zwei Wochen später hatte die Zentrale Wahlkommission 100% der Stimmen ausgezählt. Die regierende Partei der Regionen erlangte 185 von 450 Sitzen. Auf fast ebenso viele Sitze kommen die Oppositionsparteien zusammen: die Vereinigte Opposition Batkiwschtschyna (Vaterland) zieht mit 101 Mandaten ins Parlament ein, Witalij Klytschkos UDAR (Schlag) wird über 40 Mandate verfügen und die rechtsnationale Swoboda (Freiheit) konnte mit 37 Mandaten ebenfalls einen Erfolg verbuchen. (…)