ion with Russia would mean complete loss of independence and incorporation into Russia, Belarus will disappear from the map of modern Europe (Pastukhov 1997). The Declaration adopted on July 27, 1990 says that any forcible actions against the national state order of Belarus on the part of political parties; public associations and individuals shall be prosecuted by law. The idea of Belarus’ state sovereignty formed a basis of the country’s Constitution (Pastakhov 1997). So then unification would be unconstitutional and the only way for it to happen is for Belarus to vote the surrender of Belarusian sovereignty and statehood. This would seem extremely unlikely but it turns out that the president alone can surrender the whole country. Having signed agreements with the neighboring state he actually gives it a free path for invasion (Pastukhov 1997). President Aleksandr Lukashevko was democratically elected to office in 1994 becoming the first president of Belarus. In June 1996, the new Belarusian National Assembly, which was not the result of general elections, unanimously approved changes to the Law On the Presidency, giving the president almost unlimited powers and control over the legislature and the courts of law (IHFHR 1998). Since a referendum proposed by Lukashevko in 1996 was adopted the separation of powers laid out in the 1994 constitution have ceased to exist in Belarus. It is also due to Lukashevko that the unification with Russia is being sought. These happenings reflect an authoritarian renewal, a transitional problem. The short period of democratic transition has been overburdened by too many political transformations going on at the same time, partly strengthening, and partly weakening each other (Agh 1998). The activities of Lukashevko only aggravate the political and economic crisis in Belarus. It seems that democracy is the only way to overcome these problems but it is uncertain if it will prevai...
