Democracy: Are We Ready for It?

Inspiration

I have been thinking about the issue of classical understanding of democracy and of the compliance of that understanding with post-Soviet and Belarusian standards for quite a long time. I decided to write this post after some sort of debate with my friend yesterday. I am writing "just from the site" - from Belarus, which is thought to be "the last dictatorship in Europe". I would like those of you who sincerely believe in Western standards not to consider this post as some kind of "pro-Russian position" or "defending of undemocratic rule", no. Actually, I've never supported the regime and for some time not long ago I even was against it. But maximalismus is gradually being gone and the time for more objective view comes. What I describe here is the reality of modern Belarus that is considered to be a "strangely oppositional spot" on the European democratic continent.

Thesis and explanation

My thesis is that we, the people of Belarus, actually CAN afford democracy. We had it in the end of 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s. The question that most often emerge is: "Why the democracy was reverted without attempts to defend it?"

The result of "democratizing" decade of 1990s may seem strange for most people living in the West. However, everything becomes more than clear if we look on the development of the events in the 1980s and 1990s.

Imagine the second half of 1980s in the Soviet Union. It was the time of Gorbachev's Perestroika doctrine. Perestroika was highly popular in its first years. On the other side, glastnost and democratization led to a cultural shock of most of Soviet citizens. With the newborn freedoms people realized that they have lived in a lie for the whole life. For old generation that remembered the war and first post-war decades that was inacceptable. The youth - my parents' generation - accepted new "Western-styled" comings with enthusiasm. They have already grown up on Western music and its Soviet implications, on such influences as Russian rock-music or revolutionary Soviet films of  the middle-late 1980s. Their enthusiam has slowly transfered to older people, who grew up in 1960s and 1970s and the wave became truly national.

In 1988-89 economic sphere of Perestroika tried to manage long-term structural problems of Soviet economy, implemented quality control on factories that was ineffective because of huge development gap between Soviet and Western industry. Soviet agriculture haven't been effective since the 1930s, Soviet Union strongly depended on the import of agricultural products. When the democratization came also came shortages of food and other goods. Even Moscow, which had traditionally had the best supply in the whole Union, suffered shortages of sugar and cigarettes with the latter one even leading to smokers' unrests.

Smokers block a street during one of "tobacco unrests" in 1990

Most people thought that "old-school" Soviets were responsible for the crisis and pro-democracy movements as well as nationalist movements in some republics gained momentum. Cruel actions against the prostests with hundreds of killed defined the fate of the state. In 1991 Soviet Union collapsed. In the first months, people even didn't fully realize that 70 years of Soviet era are over but when they finally noticed the failure of state in Russia and some other post-Soviet republics (namely Georgia, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan) there was no euphoria about the new era. The economic situation was catastrophic. A lot of people appeared in severe poverty without an idea how to act in new circumstances. Some active people realized how to ride the strom - to become criminals. The 1990s are since known as the years of crime, poverty, insecurity, anarchy.

A scene of protest of the 1990s in Russia

The sell of gas weapons was allowed in Russia during the 1990s

The arrest of a criminal

The defenders of the "White House" (House of Goeverment) convoy their leader, the first and only Vice-President of Russia, Alexander Rutskoy. He was the main leader of opposition to Yeltsin during the Russian constitutional crisis in September-October, 1993

A queue to currency exchange point

The war between the police ("militia") and criminals

Highly controversial nationalist Russian politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky throws stones at Jew students in Strasbourg during a protest against him in 1994

A woman selling fish on a market. The writing on the sheet of paper mean "I'll buy dollars"

Mother of superpopular Russian journalist Vladislav Listyev stand by him during his funeral. He was killed for unknown reason in his home on March 1, 1995

Chechen terrorist leader Shamil Basayev speaks on the phone during the Budyonnovsk hospital hostage crisis in June 1995

Chechen anti-Russian fighters during the First Chechen war of 1994-96

A woman protesting during the arrest of Sergei Mavrodi, the leader of famous Russian financial pyramide "MMM", after the pyrramide's collapse. She protests against the arrest, while most of people were not lucky by investing their money into MMM's shares

A woman transorts her disabled alcoholic husband in a village by Moscow

On the New Arbat street in Moscow in early 1990s

A photo of a young woman standing in front of the still-Soviet police car  near the Red Square in 1990

Pro-Communist protester in 1992

Russian troops in front of the tank-hit White House in Moscow during the 1993 constitutional crisis

One of two blocks of flats in Moscow that were bombed in September 1999 by Chechen terrorists

Rescuers after terrorist attack on Pushkinskaya square in Moscow in 1999

Belarus had similar experience, yet a bit pacified by the non-existence of true dividing lines in the Belarusian public. Actually Belarusians did not manifest any strong will to cessede from the USSR - Belarus was one of the most developed Soviet republics. When Belarus became independent, the economic situation significantly worsened, monthly salaries fell to about $20 and the only two ways to overcome poverty were either entrepreneurship or crime. Both ways flourished in Belarus with pesonal trade with Poland, Hungary, Turkey becoming the main source of true incomes.

The state and especially local governments had to manage with extremely powerful criminal groups. The criminal situation was so bad that local administrations had to negotiate almost every action with criminal authorities that controlled markets, enterprises, companies (espcially real sector) and even land. Battles among various criminal groups or of those groups against the police were common daily events on the cities' streets. Part of the youth also grew criminal and battles among the various districts of one city were natural too, just like in American movies about criminal gangs.

That was the face of democracy for those who lived at that time. People were disapponted by the local application of democracy and simply came against it in the country's first presidential elections in 1994, where candidate Lukashenko came with a platform of practical return to Soviet practicies and to a strong police state.

Belarus became a dictatorship. On the other hand, crime level significantly decreased, human development index nearly skyrocketted. Belarus returned to a normal life, just like during the early Perestroika years. Thanks to huge support, Lukashenko's regime even more implanted itself into the image of Belarus. Belarus became associated with order and huge numbers of policemen in the streets. Democratic world would name Belarus "a police state". Yes, it is really so. Nevertheless, Lukashenko has huge popularity among Belarusians despite thorough Western influence. Why?

Look for the answer in mentality

Yes, the answer is mentality of contemporary Belarusians that is similar to that of Russians. A lot of people now living in Belarus had grown up in the Soviet Union, then they saw the 1980s and 1990s, then they were disappointed and now they sincerely believe that the order is tied to the Lukashenko's regime. Unfortunately for Belarusian democrats and intelligents, it is so. The modern Belarusian regime is based on strong control and law enforcement. Such architecture has its reasons. I'll try to explain it.

For example, when you ride a trolleybus in a Belarusian city, you may notice two things. The first one is the smell of alcohol or other not good-smelling things coming from older people. It is known that Belarus is worldwide leader of alcohol consumption per capita in the world, being even in front of Russia: 17,5 litres of pure alcohol per capita (15 years old and older) per year - a catastrophic number (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_alcohol_consumption_per_capita#WHO_statistics). The other thing are bluish tatoos on the hands of most of the older male passengers. A huge number of people in Belarus had been jailed for various reasons, especially during the Soviet times.

Another problem that you can't see but that is really existant: the absence of will to work. The laziness is a chronic problem: everybody wants to get money for nothing and without control more and more people go away from production and try to earn as more money as possible for as less labour as possible.

With such a contingent imagine the state of the country in a case when the control is loosened. The situation will immediately deteriorate to another social catastrophe. And we need no additional  evidence to proof that: we know what happened in the 1990s and we know that there are still mostly people, who experienced those times by themselves, they are still alive. Youngsters, who protested against Likashenko in 1996 are still active too, but they are silenced by the regime - and most people support the government on that matter.

What about the youth?

Of course, the short period of democracy in Belarus had good moments too. It was the time of national rise. Unfortunately, that process remained unfinished. The generation, which was born after 1991, does not know what democracy is from their own experience. That is why they mostly even don't try to protest. Some of them, of course, have oppositional stance: that is in most cases the result of the proper home education by actively oppositional parents. For example, my mother had always had negative view about Lukashenko. That is why I also see the critical minuses of his rule and don't support him. Most young people simply repeat what they heard from TV, because their parents did not have time and will to tell their children about their stance towards the government.

So, while in most countries youth is the engine of changes, Belarusian youth does not bring any structural change to views. It is uninterested in politics. That is the result of the regime's actions - the repeated and successful attempts to draw away the public from politics by supressing the opposition, supressing the protesters and by eradicating active anti-government stance.

What is the way out if at all needed?

What I described in the previous paragraph are the actions that are, maybe, the best measures for maintaining order in a country of proletariat not able to control itself. Here is the main point of this post: BELARUSIAN SOCIETY CAN'T HOLD ITSELF. That's why the democracy is still away in Belarus. And thanks to government, people realize it well.

However, such system can't remain forever. DEMOCRACY IS THE NATURAL, EVOLUTIONAL CONTINUATION OF THE MANKIND'S HISTORY. Sooner or later, all non-democratic regimes will be eradicated. Crtitics say that is because of "long American hand". However, that is not because of the US actions. Democracy is the stereothypic invention of the Western world. And because of that it is natural. The inavoidance of democracy is simply proved by the huge waves of emigration from the socialist bloc's countries to the capitalist ones throughout the whole history of that bloc. All socialist countries had to democratize themselves during the 20th century. And Belarus is not undemocratic to the same level as was the Soviet Union or other socialist states.

But we saw what democracy makes in post-Soviet countries, where old Soviet mentality is still in place. What should be done to avoid it? The answer is TO CREATE REALLY STRONG DEMOCRACY or, to say more simply, a "POLICE DEMOCRACY", where people would have all the essential freedoms, but the state will retain the thourough internal control through its able law enforcement apparate.

That is the final point of the post. I predict that there will be some sort of political transition in Belarus in the nearest years due to quite deteriorating economical situation in the country as well as instability in the neighbouring states. The consequences will be deciding for the fate of the country and for the future generation.