There are many former Soviet republics that are now independent states. Is it really so surprising that one decided to continue as if the Soviets never ended. I don’t think so, but it sure seems to annoy the USA, the EU, and yes even the Russians. How does the old Ricky Nelson song go “You see, ya cannot please everyone, so you gotta learn to please yourself”. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe,take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.
The Soviet style is alive in Belarus stamps. Both in the extravagance of issues intended for the world wide stamp market and here with the austerity of the stamps intended for local bulk postage. When I was a young stamp collector, my godmother had a friend in Romania and she would generously clip the stamps off the envelopes for me. Instead of the elaborate oversized stamps in the rest of my Romania collection, it was always the same simple, small, single color stamp of a postman. Belarus follows that tradition.
Todays stamp is issue A179, a standard postage rate stamp A issue of Belarus from 2004. It was a 15 stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents used.
Belarus broke away from the collapsing Soviet Union in 1991. The Supreme Soviet of Belarus voted almost unanimously to ratify the break. The one hold out was Alexander Lukashenko. He was the former head of a large collective farm and a veteran of the Soviet Army for which he was a political commissar. Lukashenko got appointed to a independent government anti corruption panel. There was of course a lot of corruption in the early days due to chaos. In 1994 the commission put out a report accusing 70 officials including President Stanislav Shushkevich of corruption. Belarus was still trying for modernness so instead of show trials and detention in Siberia there was an election and Lukashenko was the new President.
Lukashenko then set out recreating at least the Belarus part of the Soviet Union. The old style was bought back, state ownership of industry was reestablished and dissidents were disappeared. This was annoying to the EU which began to label Belarus a dictatorship, Europe’s last. Lukashenko responded by telling the then Foreign Minister of Germany that it is better to be a dictator than to be gay. Well at least German leaders can think of someone more annoying to them than Trump. He also declared the Drazdy complex in Minsk where all the foreign diplomats lived state property and indefinitely closed for renovations. The west responded with travel restrictions on Lukashenko and began funneling money to the opposition figures. I know, you thought only Russia did that.
The Russians themselves tired of Lukashenko. In 1998 the Russian central bank stopped supporting the Belarus Ruble. Russian state media also began airing exposes of opposition figures and business leaders that disappeared under who they deemed the Godfather. Lukashenko called the stories dirty propaganda. No he is not crazy enough to call Putin gay. He did tell his people that a traditionally Jewish city in Belarus was a pigsty and that if Jews had any pride in themselves they would return from Israel and fix it up. There is plenty of word that Israel was offended, but none whether any came back to fix it up.
Like Putin, Lukashenko keeps getting reelected. Sometimes it is enough to annoy the right people. Former President Shushkevich recently filed suit against the Belarus Department of Labor. He complained that his pension as former head of state was inflation battered and equated only $1.80 a month. No word if they upped his pension but Belarus did give him a medal for his service in the independence movement.
Well my drink is empty and I will poor another while thinking of all the world leaders I have made fun of in these articles. I hope Russia is wrong about Lukashenko. It would be ashamed for everyone’s (anyones?) favorite Philatelist just disappeared. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.