The Political System of Belarus and the 2001 Presidential Election

The Republic of Belarus is the acknowledged leader in preserving the elements of the Soviet style communist system. However, the dynamics of the political system illustrate that post-Soviet Belarusian society has its own specific features. The current political system in independent Belarus preserves not so much the old political institutions of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR) as its principles of exerting power. The period between 1 990 and 1996 (from the declaration of independence to the crystallisation of the authoritarian model of government) should not necessarily be evaluated as a period of lost opportunities. Due to a number of historical and cultural factors, when the USSR collapsed Belarus was the most backward republic in terms of national and civic self-awareness.