What is behind Natallya Pyatkevich’s smile?

On January 9 Natallya Pyatkevich was the first deputy head of the Presidential Administration of Belarus. She is ordered to take under her control all ideology work in the country.

The main demand of Lukashenka to Pyatkevich: “no formalism, no idle talk”. The Belarusian leader ordered to pay special attention to work of mass media, as “some decline, some standstill is taking place in some mass media,” Radio Svaboda informs.

According to the editorial director of “Narodnaya Volya” Svyatlana Kalinkina, Pyatkevich was a spokesperson of the president and in fact was in charge of the ideology and mass media in the state.

“I do not have great hopes, that Natalya Pyatkevich changed her outlook over these years, and in reality recognized the role of free mass media for the state. I am really disquieted that the same persons are appointed to different positions. There won’t be great charges. For instance, who had prepared the law on mass media which is coming into force? It has been prepared by Natallya Pyatkevich. Who in the first place started control over mass media and pressure on them? Who had introduced the system of approvals to journalists’ works by the presidential administration? Who invented the system of how Lukashenka is allowed to be pictured, and how not? It was namely Natallya Pyatkevich. Everybody who worked with her as a spokesperson, says that there is no such a harsh person as her in this respect. The first thing she should do is to persuade Lukashenka to suspend operation of the law on mass media”.

The leader of the Party of Belarusian Communists Syarhei Kalyakin believes that Natallya Pyatkevich is in favour now, and that her influence in the administration now is very great:

“She is one of the people who hold talks with the European Union. The last word belongs to the president, however. Maybe Natallya Pyatkevich looks good in talks with Europeans, but the things she can say and the corridor she is inside do not depend on her”.

For instance, in 2007 N. Pyatkevich met with the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State David Kramer in one of Minsk cafés. He communicated a US message to the Belarusian leadership through her.

As said by the deputy chairman of the Belarusian Popular Front Viktar Ivashkevichatkevich has “allegedly more pro-Western image”. It has influenced her appointment.

“Pyatkevich’s appointment is a part of new approach and a new image. In difficult conditions of the state and authorities at the moment, and with her image in the eyes of the Belarusian people, ideology departments won’t be the only necessary thing. When people have a normal salary, they paid no attention to ideology. And now when everybody is in panic, mistrust to the authorities has grown, and some new approaches have appeared”.

The former head of the main state legal department of the presidential administration Alyaksandr Plaskavitski is greatly surprised that Lukashenka has promoted Natallya Pyatkevich.

“There cannot be any understanding between these two characters. With their things in common, they have many things which should course allergy”.

As for N. Pyatkevich’s allergy, Plaskavitski said:

“She had education just for pleasure. She does not read books. She does not know many things at all. What does she know about liberalism? Only the things which are often repeated on TV and written in newspapers”.

Since 1994, when Lukashenka took power, Natallya Pyatkevich occupied different positions in the state legal department of the Administration. The young expert was noticed by the leader of the state, and Natallya Pyatkevich became the press-secretary of the president. In three years she was appointed the deputy head of the administration. Besides, she was elected the chairperson of the Belarusian ski union”.