A SOVIET-STYLE STRONGMAN STILL RULES BELARUS.

• Author: Brown, Elizabeth Nolan
• Position: BELARUS

ON AUGUST 25, 1991, Belarus formally gained its independence from the Soviet Union. But in many ways, the country is stuck in the USSR.

Streets are still named after famous Communist figures, and a statue of Lenin sits in the capital city of Minsk. The state intelligence agency is still called the KGB. And callbacks to Soviet times go much deeper.

Democratic governance, freedom, and flourishing in Belarus have long been hampered by Alexander Lukashenko, a demagogue and dictator who took power in 1994. In the country's first and only open election, Lukashenko--who ran on an anti-corruption platform--was elected president. But once in office, he proved reluctant to let go of power or tolerate dissent.

"Openly nostalgic for Soviet times," as the Associated Press put it in 1996, Lukashenko was dismissive of the country's parliament, hostile to constitutional limits, and enthusiastic about state control of information. From the beginning, he was warm to Russia, signing a friendship treaty in 1995 that included concessions such as allowing Russian troops to be stationed in Belarus. He continues to encourage the people to speak Russian, not Belarusian.

By 1996, Lukashenko was proposing constitutional amendments to extend his term in office and expand his power. Parliament would not approve a referendum on it, instead proposing impeachment. "I will not give up the reins of power," Lukashenko vowed in response. And he hasn't.

Lukashenko has held on to his position by quashing opposition, suppressing nonstate media, interfering with elections, and otherwise denying civil liberties and political freedom to Belarusians.

"We have a revival of the ideological control and brainwashing that prevailed in the past," journalist Zhanna Litvina told the Committee to Protect Journalists back in 1997, after the independent radio station she had worked for was shut down by the authorities. "Only this time it is not by the Communist Party but the propaganda of one man and his followers."

Belarus held its second presidential election in 2001, with Lukashenko declaring a suspiciously large victory for himself. The margin supposedly grew even bigger in 2006, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) declared that it "failed to meet OSCE commitments for democratic elections."

Little has changed since then, despite periodic pushback from Belarus' democratic activists. "My country is in serious trouble. It is governed by one man. And it is ruled...