Editing Politics of Belarus (section)

==Political background==
[[File:Government of BNR.jpg|thumb|The first government of the [[Belarusian Democratic Republic]], 1918]]

===Independence from the Russian Empire===
The first attempt to establish a sovereign Belarusian state in modern history came in early 1918 with the declaration of independence of the [[Belarusian Democratic Republic]]. The short-lived state was destroyed by the Soviet invasion in 1919. The [[Rada]] of the Belarusian Democratic Republic exists as a [[government in exile]] since then.

The [[Bolsheviks]] created a puppet Soviet government of Belarus in [[Smolensk]]. In 1924, the Soviet Socialist Republic of Belarus joined the [[USSR]] together with Soviet-controlled [[Russia]], [[Ukraine]] and [[Transcaucasia]].

===Independence from the USSR===
[[File:Šuškievič bchd.jpg|thumb|100px|[[Stanislav Shushkevich]], the first head of state of independent Belarus]]The March 4, 1990, elections to the republic's [[Supreme Soviet]] gave the country a legislature that was little different from previous legislatures: only 10 percent of the deputies were members of the opposition. But for the most part, the populace seemed satisfied with the new deputies (see [[List of Members of the Belarusian Parliament, 1990–1995]]), and the [[Belarusian Popular Front]]'s (BPF) calls for independence and efforts at nation-building failed to stir up the same strong emotions as movements in neighboring [[Ukraine]] and the [[Baltic States]]. Although the Supreme Soviet of the [[Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic|Byelorussian SSR]] adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic on July 27, 1990 (some two weeks after Russia had declared its own sovereignty), the March 1991 referendum held throughout the Soviet Union showed that 83 percent of Belarusians wanted to preserve the Soviet Union.{{Dubious|date=June 2023|reason=Other republics that voted in that referendum *to reform* the Soviet Union also voted overwhelmingly for independence as well.}}

Political change in Belarus came about only after the [[Soviet Coup of 1991|August 1991 coup d'état in Moscow]], and the subsequent reaction by the Central Committee of the [[Communist Party of Belarus]]: the CPB displayed its satisfaction at the coup attempt by abstaining from issuing a condemnation of the coup plotters. Following the coup's collapse and the full restorations of independence of [[Estonia]] and [[Latvia]], and the declaration of independence by Ukraine, Belarus declared its own independence on August 25 by giving its existing declaration of sovereignty the status of a constitutional document. On August 28, Prime Minister [[Vyacheslav Kebich]] declared that he and his entire cabinet had "suspended" their CPB membership. The next day, both the Russian and the Belarusian governments suspended the activities of the communist party.

[[File:Kurapaty 1989 meeting.jpg|thumb|A demonstration by the [[Belarusian Popular Front]] in [[Kurapaty]], 1989]]

===Political parties===
Stanislav Shushkevich observed at the beginning of 1993 that almost 60 percent of Belarusians did not support any political party, only 3.9 percent of the electorate backed the communist party, and only 3.8 percent favored the [[Belarusian Popular Front|BPF]]. The influence of other parties was much lower.

The [[Communist Party of Belarus]] (CPB), part of the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] (CPSU), claimed to rule the Belarusian SSR in the name of the proletariat for the entire duration of the republic's existence. For most of this period, it sought to control all aspects of government and society and to infuse political, economic, and social policies with the correct ideological content. By the late 1980s, however, the party watched as CPSU leader [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] attempted to withdraw the CPSU from day-to-day economic affairs.

After the CPB was banned in the wake of the August 1991 coup d'état, Belarusian communists regrouped and renamed themselves the [[Belarusian Left Party "A Just World"|Party of Communists of Belarus]] (PCB), which became the umbrella organization for Belarus's communist parties and pro-Russian groups. The PCB was formally registered in December 1991. The Supreme Soviet lifted the ban on the CPB in February 1993.

The most active and visible of the opposition political groups in Belarus in the first half of the 1990s was the [[Belarusian Popular Front]] (BPF), founded in October 1989 with [[Zianon Pazniak]] as chairman. The BPF declared itself a movement open to any individual or party, including communists, provided that those who joined shared its basic goal of a fully independent and democratic Belarus. The BPF's critics, however, claimed that it was indeed a party, pointing out the movement's goal of seeking political power, having a "shadow cabinet," and being engaged in parliamentary politics.

The United Democratic Party of Belarus was founded in November 1990 and was the first political party in independent Belarus other than the communist party. Its membership is composed of technical intelligentsia, professionals, workers, and peasants. It seeks an independent Belarus, democracy, freedom of ethnic expression, and a market economy.

The Belarusian Social Democratic Assembly (Hramada) emerged in March 1991. Its members include workers, peasants, students, military personnel, and urban and rural intelligentsia. Its program advocates an independent Belarus, which does not rule out membership in the CIS, and a market economy with state regulation of certain sectors. The assembly cooperates with other parties and considers itself part of the worldwide social democratic movement.

The Belarusian Peasant Party, founded in February 1991, is headquartered in Minsk and has branches in most [[Oblast|voblasts]]. The party's goals include privatization of land, a free market, a democratic government, and support of Belarusian culture and humanism.

The Belarusian Christian Democratic Union, founded in June 1991, was a continuation of the Belarusian Christian-Democratic Party, which was disbanded by the Polish authorities in western Belarus in the 1930s. Its membership consists mainly of the intelligentsia, and it espouses Christian values, nonviolence, pluralism, private property, and peaceful relations among ethnic groups.

The "Belaya Rus'" Slavic Council was founded in June 1992 as a conservative Russophile group that defends Russian interests in all spheres of social life, vociferously objects to the status of Belarusian as the republic's sole official language, and demands equal status for the Russian language.

In 1995 other parties included the Belarusian Ecological Party, the National Democratic Party of Belarus, the Party of People's Accord, the All-Belarusian Party of Popular Unity and Accord, the Belarusian United Agrarian Democratic Party, the Belarusian Scientific Industrial Congress, the Belarusian Green Party, the Belarusian Humanitarian Party, the Belarusian Party of Labor, the Belarusian Party of Labor and Justice, the Belarusian Socialist Party, the Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus, the Polish Democratic Union, and the Republican Party.

===Lukashenko's administration===
[[File:Belarus-Minsk-Opposition Protests 2006.03.19.jpg|thumb|A demonstration by the opposition after the [[2006 Belarusian presidential election|2006 presidential election]]]]

[[Alexander Lukashenko]] has been the president since 1994. Lukashenko has been quoted as saying that he has an "authoritarian ruling style" that he uses to run the country.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3882843.stm| date=20 March 2006| title=Profile: Alexander Lukashenko| work=BBC News| access-date=2006-03-26| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060427193138/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3882843.stm| archive-date=27 April 2006| url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Council of Europe]] has barred Belarus from membership since 1997 for numerous voting irregularities in the November 1996 constitutional referendum and parliament by-elections. According to the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, Belarus's constitution is "illegal and does not respect minimum democratic standards and thus violates the principles of separation of powers and the rule of law".<ref name="CoE">{{cite web| url=http://press.coe.int/cp/97/11a(97).htm| title=Belarus suspended from the Council of Europe| date=January 17, 1997| access-date=2006-03-26| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060426062531/http://press.coe.int/cp/97/11a%2897%29.htm| archive-date=April 26, 2006}}</ref> The Belarusian government has also been criticized by [[Human Rights Watch]] for [[human rights]] violations and its actions against [[Non-governmental organization|NGOs]], independent journalists, national minorities and opposition politicians.<ref name="HRW">{{cite book| chapter-url=http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/01/13/belaru9878.htm| title=Human Rights Watch| chapter=Belarus: Events of 2004| date=5 January 2005| access-date=2006-03-26| archive-url=https://archive.today/20120713102249/http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/01/13/belaru9878.htm| archive-date=2012-07-13| url-status=live}}</ref>

In testimony to the [[U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations]], [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]] [[Condoleezza Rice]] labeled Belarus, among six other states, as part of the US's list of ''[[outposts of tyranny]].''<ref>{{cite web| url=http://foreign.senate.gov/testimony/2005/RiceTestimony050118.pdf| title=Opening Statement by Dr. Condoleezza Rice, Senate Foreign Relations Committee| date=January 18, 2005| access-date=2006-03-26 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060325002023/http://foreign.senate.gov/testimony/2005/RiceTestimony050118.pdf <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2006-03-25}}</ref> The Belarusian Foreign Ministry announced that the statement from Secretary Rice "are a poor basis" to form a good Belarusian-American alliance.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4187361.stm| date=19 January 2005| title=At-a-glance: 'Outposts of tyranny'| access-date=2006-03-26| work=BBC News| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060820115227/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4187361.stm| archive-date=20 August 2006| url-status=live}}</ref>

The EU [[List of people and organizations sanctioned in relation to human rights violations in Belarus|sanctioned 21 more Belarusian officials]] in early 2012. After Belarus expelled the EU and Polish ambassadors in response, EU nations jointly withdrew their ambassadors from Belarus, citing tremendous concern over the political oppression in the nation. It is no secret that "[[Poland]] has taken the strongest lead against the ongoing repression in Belarus, hosting broadcasting stations for opposition forces" like [[Belsat]], and "giving [[Right of asylum|asylum]] to a number of exiled figures."<ref name=indyb>{{cite news|newspaper=The Independent|first=Jerome |last=Taylor|date=29 February 2012|title=Belarus left isolated as EU nations withdraw ambassadors|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/belarusleft-isolated-as-eu-nations-withdraw-ambassadors-7463793.html|access-date=3 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925185659/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/belarusleft-isolated-as-eu-nations-withdraw-ambassadors-7463793.html|archive-date=25 September 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

During the rule of Lukashenko there have been several cases of persecution, including the [[Forced disappearance|disappearance]] or death of prominent opposition leaders [[Yury Zacharanka]] and [[Viktar Hanchar]] and independent journalists [[Dzmitry Zavadski]] and [[Veronika Cherkasova]].

As of 2017, Belarus is also the only nation in Europe that retains the [[Capital punishment in Belarus|death penalty]] for certain crimes. The most recent execution was in 2019.