Elected president of the former Soviet republic in July of 1994, Lukashenka has become a powerful beacon for anti-globalist fighters for almost 10 years.

He is probably best known for his unceremonious expulsion of all World Bank and IMF representatives from his country early in his tenure.

In 1995, Lukashenka began a privatization program, but, when it became clear that well connected oligarchs were to take the lion’s share, thus plunging the country into poverty, the president recanted and placed much of the economy under state control.The result of his policies is a substantial rise in national GDP, and, according to the United Nations, Belarus has the strongest economy among the former Soviet republics. Unemployment is about 2.5% (with about 3% of jobs presently vacant), and she is ready to sign a free trade agreement with Russia, which ensures Belarus cheap energy.

In the first half of 1996, the first year affected by the anti-IMF policies, GDP skyrocketed a breathtaking 11%. More recently, the first half of this year say Belarus’ GDP grow a strong 5.3%. The economics ministry forecasts that GDP grown next year will be about 7%, with about a 14% return on industrial investment.

GDP growth in Belarus since the IMF has been kicked out has been, on average, between 6% and 4% yearly, which is a rather strong showing. Wages have consistently risen, as has the basic economic standard of living. Crime is substantially lower than in the other post-Soviet economies.

Unlike Russia or Ukraine, Belarus does not have any public sector wage arrears, and public sector monthly salaries rose by nearly 50% from 1998-2000.

Unfortunately, a large trade deficit and problems with inflation have assisted in dampening the achievements of Lukashenka’s nationalist system. However, the recent increases in the trade deficit can be the responsibility of a weakening global economy.Nevertheless, Lukashenka has signed a “common economic space” deal with Khazakastan, Ukraine, and Russia, beginning an attempt to create an “alternative EU.” The fact that Belarus is attempting to remerge with Russia is a major threat to western interests. His popularity rating remains roughly between 55 and 60%. By way of contrast, former President Boris Yeltsin of Russia never cracked double digits.

But, because Belarus has refused to be a part of the New World Order, this potent economy is called by the CIA, The New York Times and countless pundits, at the “verge of collapse.”Lukashenka is nothing if not popular. The last parliamentary elections in 2000 showed Lukashenka’s party to have gathered a majority of the votes. The international observers from the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) reported that there were no irregularities with the election, but, due to CIA pressure, called the election “undemocratic.” The U.S. State Department did the same.By way of contrast, the severely flawed reign of Georgia’s Edvard Schevardnadze received the highest praises from the “international community.” The St. Petersburg based Orthodox anti-Globalist Resource Center had this to say about the Georgian election:

Georgians of this observer's acquaintance now living in St. Petersburg because “life in Georgia is impossible,” as they put it, assert that Shevardnadze is universally hated and could never win in honest voting, yet he “won” an amazing 80% “victory” in the last elections. And this all happened in the presence of western observers, who declared the elections to be in accordance with all democratic norms. Even the fact that Shevardnadze's main opponent mysteriously withdrew his candidacy just days before the elections (clearly under pressure from Shevardnadze himself) did not trouble western observers. Shevardnadze, a former Gorbachev ally and one of the main architects of “perestroika,” has loyally followed the IMF’s orders for the economic colonization of his country and promises to bring Georgia into NATO, so it's clear that any elections won by Shevardnadze will be recognized as “democratic.” (cf. oga.ru for more information)

Even more serious is the fact that Lukashenka has challenged the eastward expansion of NATO. Recently, Lukashenka said that the expansion of NATO into Poland is an “act of war” against the Belarussian state. Belarus is in possession of most Soviet hardware from the former Warsaw Pact bases (pulled back into Belarus but not withdrawn into Russia proper), and this has one of the more formidable militaries in central or eastern Europe.

He has further said that, “If the USA takes a decision to place its forces closer to the border between Poland and Belarus, our country will be forced to respond adequately to this. . . . If the situation develops in a way that is unfavorable for us, we will not only monitor these troops’ deployments–they will also be aimed at.”Given the fact that Russian and Belarussian troops routinely perform joint exercises and train together, this is slowly becoming serious business. Lukashenka has also proposed a joint Russian-Belarussian military force to be deployed on the Polish border.

Lukashenka has, throughout the Gulf War, sent military supplies to Syria, Cuba and Iraq up until the shooting. Many anti-Zionist fighters in the Mideast are using Belarussian made equipment, leading Israel to pressure to U.S., as well as Russia, to rein in the “rogue nation.”Though Belarus has only 70,000 infantry that is combat ready, military analysis say that Lukashenka can call up 500,000 reservists rather quickly. Belarus also has roughly 5,000 tanks and a small but elite air force of about 350 combat aircraft. Militarily, Belarus is anything but a third world country.The CIA nervously says on its website that Belarus has a militarily-fit male population of 2 million. As of today, Russia and Belarus operate joint air defense systems.

The so called opposition to Lukashenka is extremely small. Recently, before an anti-presidential demonstration in Minsk, the opposition leaders predicted a “massive turnout of 20,000.” Just shy of 1,000 showed up, waving anti-Lukashenka placards, conveniently, in English.

Both the Soros Foundation, as well as the U.S. National Endowment for Democracy, are almost completely funding the “opposition.”Lukashenka’s bases of popularity are the poor, rural workers and the elderly. All of them would have been completely left out in the cold had the Belarussian government gave in to IMF and State Department pressure to implement “shock treatment” for the economy in the mid-90s.

Previously to Lukashenka’s election, nearly $15 billion has left the country under its previous pro-western leadership. Lukashenka passed a serious of laws that stemmed this tide, thus angering western banking interests.On Spetember 9th of 2001, 75% of Belarussian voters sent Lukashenka back to the presidential chair for another term. The New York Times of August 18th admitted CIA support for the Belarussian opposition.

The former head of the West German Secret Service Hans Geoirge-Wieck went to Minsk and was said to have “kept several hundred colleagues busy with one central task-support of the so-called democratic forces in the opposition and the regime.” (Junge Welt, Sept. 11, 2001). Wiech himself had reported to the Belgian paper La Libre Belgique (Aug. 31) that the OSCE succeeded in organizing the splintered opposition to Lukashenka into one single voting bloc.