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Why Russia's 'Gateway to Europe' Tolerates This Soviet-Style Dictator

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MINSK, Belarus -- Belarusians are casting votes for their next president, but it's really just an exercise because everyone knows who's going to win.

This year marks Alexander Lukashenko's 21st year in power and the fifth presidential election since he drastically rewrote the nation's constitution.

He has a history of silencing, even jailing his political opponents.

This time he's running against three candidates, but Lukashenko's major opposition leaders chose not to run.

"The major reason for this is in 2010, seven candidates were imprisoned, were arrested after the elections and so people are just not willing to risk their lives running for office," Valery Kavaleuski said.

Kavaleuski is a Belarusian who used to represent his country as a diplomat to the United States. He resigned when Lukashenko ran for a third term, violating Belarus' constitution.

Ten years ago he got a first-hand taste of out how Lukashenko treats his political dissidents when he was jailed in a KGB prison for two weeks. Belarus is the only former Soviet country to retain the name KGB for its security machine.

"It retained the same practices, the same approaches and the same perception by the population that they're omnipresent, the mightiest organization in Belarus that can follow you and go after you at any point in time," Kavaleuski said.

It may be why few Belarusians have cross words about their ruler.

"I think that despite the fact that many people criticize Lukashenko for certain mistakes, he provides stability and security for our country and I think 80, even maybe 85 percent will vote for him," Vladimir Zaytsev told CBN News while walking through the main square in Minsk.

Stability is perhaps Lukashenko's strongest selling point considering Russia's aggression in neighboring Ukraine, especially now that President Vladimir Putin wants to build a Russian military base in Belarus.

"We see that Russia uses such bases to occupy countries. They annexed and occupied Crimea from Ukraine using the same approach. On the other hand, the countries that border with Belarus, the Baltic states, Poland, Ukraine they also will face a closer military presence of Russia," Kavaleuski said.

As part of his iron grip, the Lukashenko regime intimidates evangelical Christians. Any faith outside the nation's state-controlled Orthodox Church faces problems. But not everyone wants change.

"Americans should stop listening to so-called political experts who think we don't have enough freedom," Zaytsev said. "We have enough freedom and I would personally shorten it a little bit."

So why should Americans care what happens in Belarus? Kavaleuski said there are many reasons.

"Belarus is strategically located, it's a gateway, it's located on this junction of Eastern and Western civilization so this territory should be kept peaceful, it should be kept stable," he said.

The winner of the election will rule for five years, or in this case, five more years.

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About The Author

Jennifer
Wishon

As Senior Washington Correspondent for CBN News, Jennifer covers the intersection of faith and politics - often producing longer format stories that dive deep into the most pressing issues facing Americans today. A 20-year veteran journalist, Jennifer has spent most of her career covering politics, most recently at the White House as CBN's chief White House Correspondent covering the Obama and Trump administrations. She's also covered Capitol Hill along with a slew of major national stories from the 2008 financial crisis to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic and every election in between. Jennifer