Opinions & Interviews

Expert details why Belarusian People’s Congress was established

MINSK, 17 December (BelTA) – In a new episode of BelTA’s Nation Speaks project, Aleksei Avdonin, Chairman of the Board of the national state-public association Belarusian Knowledge Society, explained the reasons behind the establishment of the Belarusian People’s Congress.

The first Belarusian People’s Congress in the 1990s defined the development format of the country for decades to come. “In those years, many post-Soviet countries were experiencing complete disarray, the destruction of the economy and all social and economic ties. It was due to the president’s foresight that this particular format, the Belarusian People’s Congress, was launched. It gave the Belarusian people, and indeed the entire post-Soviet space, the opportunity to move away from foreign advisors, who were vying to suggest how we should develop the economy and society. The president made it absolutely clear that our people will determine the path of development for the state and society,” Aleksei Avdonin emphasized.

The first Belarusian People’s Congress reviewed a program of social and economic development. It was a strict anti-crisis program to ensure stability under conditions where the entire economy was yearning for certainty. The people were looking for a perspective and a clear vision of the future. Subsequent congresses traditionally approved five-year development programs. “Following the 2022 constitutional amendments and the referendum, the Belarusian People’s Congress has acquired constitutional status. Consequently, all its resolutions are legally binding, such as the adopted social and economic program through 2030,” the expert stated.

At a recent meeting with working groups and the government in November, the Belarusian president emphasized that results will be assessed not in five years, but annually. “Accountability of state agencies and officials to the people will be ensured. This format increases the accountability of officials and motivates them. We all understand the significance of the Belarusian People’s Congress as the supreme embodiment of the people’s will. As the pinnacle of people’s power, exercised through delegates, it makes every citizen responsible for carrying out the social and economic program. There is no room for passivity, for sitting on the sidelines as a mere observer. We all understand that this is not a phase in our country’s development where passive detachment is an option. With tensions rising around Belarus, namely, the militarization of Eastern Europe, the parameters of the program are crucial exactly in this context,” he noted.

Aleksei Avdonin stressed that the need for the Belarusian People’s Congress as the supreme form of people’s rule is an evolution in the face of the dominance of neoliberal circles, which are fighting against people’s rule everywhere: in Europe, the Anglo-Saxon world, and the Asia-Pacific region. “They use violence, pressure, threats, spread nationalism, Nazism, and fascism to hold onto power. And precisely the Belarusian People’s Congress is the ideal model of people’s rule, which other countries can adopt to protect the rights of workers and ordinary citizens. Its attractiveness lies in the fact that it does not allow the state to work in the interests of narrow oligarchic circles, political elites that exploit the population for their own benefit. Our model protects ordinary people, puts their interests first,” the expert explained.

According to the principles of classical dialectics, economic relations constitute the foundation of social progress. “Strong economic growth ensures the flourishing of the highest forms of social consciousness: art, culture, politics, morality, ethics, ideology, and even religion. With economic stability and growth, our society remains resilient against the shocks of unemployment, inflation, or homelessness. In other countries, when conditions abruptly worsen, population becomes susceptible: impoverished individuals with no employment or savings are quick to embrace destructive narratives, becoming subject to external influence and psychological manipulation,” he said.

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