In Ilyich’s Footsteps

The Nature finds ways to square accounts with dictators in the end of their reign.

They were exceptionally my professional duties that forced me to listen to Lukashenka for all the 7 hours and 20 minutes. I’m psychologically stable, so I survived, which, however, cannot be said about the dictator.

He feels very bad. He is well aware that this is the end. He was still trying to ruffle, to start on his Kremlin masters, to tell Trump what to do, boasted that he had been the first to warn about the NATO "threat" (few people remember, how he once shocked the world saying that "negros are already running around the Bialowieza Forest"). But he finished his speech in the appropriate way, according to the laws of the genre, saying that he was wearing "our" pants. But they are at least "our" pants, not the ones of Kachanava, who was hanging about.

Another thing that was easy to notice – there was no sign of the servility those present used to demonstrate. State propagandist, both Belarusian and Russian ones, behaved quite defiantly. This was particularly evident if compared with previous similar Lukashenka’s press conferences. There was no fancy dancing and flattery, no high-sounding false compliments. They were looking down at the orator, and one could read in their eyes: "The king is not real!".

Some people wondered why it was sycophant Hihin, who asked Lukashenka about the painful issue of the abducted politicians. After all, it was obvious that the dictator was waiting for this question, and was eager to answer it. I think the answer is that he is afraid to be sued. There is no such criminal article as "bringing the economy to the collapse", but he will have to take responsibility for the killings and abductions of oppositionists.

It is not clear why Iosif Siaredzich asked Lukashenka for an audience, as he does not really take decisions any more.

Only a couple of jesters were looking at him with inspiration – Ramanchuk and Marzaliuk, who decent people would not shake hands with for their baseness and unscrupulousness. They were the ones, to whom bewildered Lukashenka kept addressing throughout the press conference, looking for support.

All the others were sitting, casting down their angry and tired eyes, and terribly wanted to get out, at least to the toilet. But Lukashenka's "Big Talk" didn’t take it into account someone "small needs."

The reaction of Lukashenka’s "allies" from Russia, to whom he kept appealing for all the seven hours, was an illustrative one. There was little mention of him made in Russian media, they only showed satrap’s senile attempt to remember what he had just been talking about, and the confession that "no one is listening." And then they just announced about introducing further sanctions on products from Belarus, reducing to the minimum the supply of oil and carried out the calculation of billions of losses owing to the vassal.

So, Lukashenka’s fate is clear. Now it’s important what will happen tomorrow. It’s up to us. Changes are possible: the "masses" want them, and the "higher-ups", judging by yesterday's sad expressions on officials’ faces, will not protest.

Natallia Radzina, Charter97.org editor in chief