Alexander Yaroshuk's blog

A game of Russian roulette

The war in Ukraine has pushed into the background all the other problems Belarusians are facing. However, it does not mean that they ceased to exist. After all, one can notice the direct relationship between Belarus’ complicity with Russia in the military aggression in Ukraine, and terror, violence, repression against its own people. It is […] 09.04.2022

About the responsibility of Belarusians for the war in Ukraine

1. It is never superfluous to take civil responsibility for everything that happens in your country. If we were guided by this principle, we would probably be able to achieve changes in Belarus. Unfortunately, only a small part of society for a good quarter of a century felt this responsibility and tried to change the […] 18.03.2022

Economic collapse in Belarus has started

Belarus’ complicity with Russia in the military aggression against Ukraine will result in catastrophic consequences for our country, first of all – political consequences. In fact, Belarus has already been recognized as an aggressor country. Like Russia, it will face total isolation in the international arena. The political consequences entail economic ones. Like Russia, Belarus […] 02.03.2022

Half a step before the disaster…

Apparently, today or tomorrow the Belarusian army may enter the war against Ukraine. Without its participation, the Russians are unable to defeat Kyiv. Most likely, it will be 4-5 thousand of the most trained troops. In addition to the military reason, there will be a political rationale – this will be done with a view […] 01.03.2022

It is impossible to defeat the army of a free country

At a yesterday’s briefing, the representative of the office the President of Ukraine Aleksey Arestovich gave a description of the Belarusian army which, according to him, is ready for military aggression against Ukraine. He said that only about 17,000 out of 45,000 military personnel are more or less prepared for hostilities. In a condescending tone […] 28.02.2022

A clear example of how dissent crackdown policy leads the country to a dead end

There was a time when a large and powerful organization of the Belarusian Free Trade Union (SPB) operated at the Bobruisk Plant of Tractor Parts and Units. It was, perhaps, one of the best organizations of independent trade unions; it effectively defended the rights and interests of not only its members, but also all workers […] 24.01.2022

Never again…

“Later, when the war ended, women made sure over and over again: the men who had been in the hell never talked about it, did not join the societies and clubs of veterans and generally did not want to get involved with organizations that tried to perpetuate the memory of the war”. No, this is […] 18.12.2021

We want it like in Ukraine!

The minimum wage in our country will increase by 9.3 percent from January 1, 2022 and will amount to BYN 457, the government decree says. One could be glad about this message if it were not for taking into account that inflation will rise by at least 10 percent by the end of the year. […] 15.12.2021

Almost twice as many citizens of the country trust independent trade unions compared to the state-run ones

The results of the opinion poll conducted in July by Chatham House impressed us again: the trust rank of independent trade unions turned out to be one of the highest in the country – 34 %. Equally important, it remains consistently high. In January, 36 % of the respondents declared their confidence in us, and […] 15.10.2021

Sad news from Washington. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka has died

I met Richard in August 2005 in Gdansk at the jubilee convention of Polish “Solidarity” dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the trade union. I was a speaker there and gained great support from 6 thousand delegates of the congress who were chanting “Free Belarus!” After the congress we got acquainted with Richard, then the […] 08.08.2021

About the creation of trade unions in the private sector

One of the requirements for the Belarusian authorities, as set out in the Conclusion of the International Labour Conference held in June in Geneva, is to stop forcing businesses to create trade unions. This practice violates both employers’ rights and employees’ rights to voluntarily join trade unions. Judging by the results of yesterday’s meeting of […] 06.08.2021

Possible application of the ILO’s paragraph 33 in respect of Belarus is brought back to the agenda due to repressions against independent trade unions, their leaders and members

On July 14, 2021, officers of the internal affairs bodies searched the house of the Chairman of the Belarusian Free Trade Union (SPB) Nikolai Sharakh. Nikolai was detained for three days on suspicion of a criminal offense. Thus, another fact of repression against the activists and members of independent trade unions has been added to […] 16.07.2021