Monthly Archive: May 2001

Belarus’s elite, which in fact is split on many issues, enjoys a rare consensus towards independence of the country. More than 80% of state sector workers and 90% of non-state sector representatives called it a positive event (see Table 1). The disappearance of the federal center in most post-Soviet republics gave local nomenclature a good chance for self-realization, chance to exchange property for power, and in some countries – to come to power and retain property.

The survey results show that the presidential election, as leaders think, – is the most acute problem the country and citizens are facing today (see Table 1). Leaders put aside even traditional social-economic issues. At the same time one could note that the problem of election raises more concerns with non-state sector representatives, whereas state sector leaders consider economy’s inefficiency a more urgent issue. The topic of population’s impoverishment, actively exploited by the opposition, causes much more concern among state sector leaders, rather than among non-state sector representatives, and this proves how urgent the problem is.