Protests in Belarus (2016)

In 2011, a financial crisis erupted in Belarus. This led to protests called the Revolution through social networks and Stop Gasoline , which were suppressed by the authorities. In 2014, the country began a monetary and financial crisis . 2016 has come, but the crisis has not ended. ^{[1] [2]} Against the backdrop of an endless crisis, protests began.

Reasons to

On January 1, 2016, a presidential decree, Alexander Lukashenko , which prohibits selling light industry products without special certificates, came into force in Belarus. ^[3] This caused discontent of the Belarusian businessmen and they began to rally against this decree, since mandatory certification of light industry goods is almost impossible: no one does not issue any documents at wholesale centers in Moscow, and if they do, they are not authentic. It’s unprofitable to buy and sell Belarusian goods, since they are expensive and uncompetitive. ^[4] This decree caused some shopping centers to be empty on January 2 and 3 . ^[5] At the same time, the workers protested. The reason for their protests was a drop in pay. ^[6]

Protests

Winter 2016

On January 5, 2016, about 20 entrepreneurs protested against the 222nd decree of Alexander Lukashenko to the Vilensky Market of Mogilev . The protesters asked the authorities to cancel this decree. ^[4] Dozens of businessmen gathered in the Central Market in Orsha for a spontaneous rally. They held posters with the words: “Work for entrepreneurs” and “Cancel decree number 222”. ^[7]

On January 18, a rally was held in Gomel , which began at 16:00, when 500 people came out to the regional committee and began chanting: “Give us a job!”. Elvira Karnitskaya, head of the economy committee of the executive committee, came out to the rally participants, who suggested that the crowd proceed to the hall of the House of Culture "Youth" in the city park for negotiations. The protesters refused, demanding negotiations on the street. Then the deputy chairman of the regional executive committee, Boleslav Pirshtuk, came out to them and offered to go for negotiations in the DC. Approximately half of the entrepreneurs went to the assembly hall of the House of Culture, the rest decided to wait for the results on the porch of the regional executive committee. The result of the negotiations was the creation of an initiative group to address the issues of individual entrepreneurs. ^{[8] [9]} On the same day, a protest rally was held in Minsk. ^[eight]

On January 21 in Polotsk, about a hundred entrepreneurs came to the district executive committee. Nearby stood a lot of police officers. A representative of the district executive committee came out to the protesters and said: “Who does not want to work in a new way, that means - lazy. Let him go to remove the snow! ". In response, protesters chanted: "Work!". ^[ten]

January 22 in Baranavichy failed negotiations between the discontented and the authorities. The next day, a rally was held in the city. ^[11] Also on January 22 in Vitebsk several hundred protesters came to the local executive committee. They chanted: “Work!” And “Cancel!”. Then there were unsuccessful negotiations with the authorities. ^[12]

The Entrepreneurs Forum, scheduled for January 25 , was disrupted by the authorities. It was moved to February 1 . ^[13]

From January 25 to January 27, meetings were held in Brest ^[14] , Grodno , Zhlobin ^[15] and a number of regional and district centers ^[16] .

On January 28, about 300 Vitebsk businessmen gathered near the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee to meet with its representatives and discuss the issue of repealing Decree No. 222. They agreed on this with the authorities on January 22. For a long time no one came to them. ^[17] Later, negotiations took place, the leaders of the protesters demanded that they cancel the decree №222, otherwise they threatened to hold meetings. ^[18]

January 29, about 500 people came out to the building of the regional executive committee. City authorities began to negotiate with them. ^[nineteen]

On February 1, a forum of individual entrepreneurs was held in the Minsk Hotel "Pekin". ^{[20] [21]} Guests at it were officials from the Ministry of Trade, the State Committee for Standardization, the Ministry of Economy, as well as diplomats. ^[22] However, the authorities did not fulfill the requirements of entrepreneurs.

On February 9, entrepreneurs rejected their application for a rally on February 15, after the working group began to meet at the Ministry of Economy. They hoped for successful negotiations, but the next day the Belarusian President A. G. Lukashenko demanded to take measures “to work under equal conditions of all trade structures” and accused the IE of having “killed the light industry”. He also urged entrepreneurs "not to lead him by the nose." ^[23] Then, opposition negotiations began with the authorities, but many businessmen considered them useless. ^[24]

On February 13, a meeting of city entrepreneurs took place in Polotsk, the result of which was the unanimous decision to take part in a rally on February 15 on October Square in Minsk. It is also known that Aleksandra Makaeva and Irina Yaskevich received fines for participating in rallies. ^[25]

On February 15, about a thousand people came to October Square in Minsk, who came prepared an appeal to the Presidential Administration. The document signed by the representative of the entrepreneurial movement Ales Makaev specifically requires immediate repeal of Decree No. 666 and Decree No. 222. Then the protesters went to the Palace of the Republic , where opposition leaders spoke before them. ^[26] On the same day, 150 people came to Lenin Square in Grodno . The mayor Mechislav Goi negotiated with them. ^[27] Also, 30 people came to the regional executive committee in Mogilev. ^[28]

On February 17, about a hundred workers of the Minsk House-Building Plant stopped their work and demanded that the company’s management raise salaries and pay bonuses. The strike lasted about 40 minutes. Factory workers had a meeting with the authorities, and then returned to their seats. ^[6]

On February 22, another rally was held in Minsk. From 500 to 1000 protesters came to October Square and protested against presidential decree number 222. Later, participants in this rally began to receive subpoenas. ^[29]

On February 28, a rally of individual entrepreneurs was held in Minsk , in which 500 people took part. Protesters held a rally and staged a march to the presidential administration. Some of them held in their hands the flag of Belarus of the sample of the early 1990s, as well as posters calling for the resignation of President Alexander Lukashenko. Among the participants of the opposition were the leaders of the opposition. One of them, Anatol Lyabedzka , was detained by police for violating traffic rules. ^[3] On the same day, negotiations took place in Vitebsk between the disgruntled and the authorities. The result of the negotiations was that the local authorities guaranteed that the document, which stated that decree 222 would not be feasible, would be sent from the representatives of the region to the Council of Ministers. ^[12]

Spring 2016

On March 14, a new rally was held in Minsk. 300 people came to the building of the Ministry of Taxes and Duties of Belarus. On the participants of the rally, the police drew up protocols on administrative violations. ^[thirty]

On March 25, about 1,000 people went to a rally in Minsk, which was held on the central avenue of the city. The organizers of the rally stressed that the current government does not pay attention to the rights and freedoms of citizens. The demonstration lasted more than 2 hours and was authorized by the authorities. ^{[31] [32]}

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