The Last Dictator
Alexander Grigoryvitch Lukashenko
Denied that he was Europe’s last dictator
“What about Ilhem Alliluyev in Baku?
Compared to him I’m a benign conciliator”
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When Germany’s Guido Westervelle challenged
His dictatorial treatment of Belarusians
He retorted that the man was gay and deranged
That he’d only be guided by his conscience
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At the dissolution of the Soviet Union
The Republic of Belarus in its infancy
The Kremlin parachuted its trusty minion
Into the seat of power, the presidency
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Economically bankrupt, Russian aid
Was what kept the land-locked republic from famine
But the favour weren’t free, it had to be repaid
By following to the letter the Kremlin’s line
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The Russians made little attempt to hide the fact
That their not-so-long time agenda, ambition
Was the passing of an annexation act
First step towards reviving the Soviet Union
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Though the country’s economy was in tatters
Mending it was not his topmost priority
An efficient KGB was what most matters
In order to ensure his own security
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The KGB have a battery of weapons
That they regularly use against dissidence
Beatings, torture sleep and water deprivations
But the jewel in their crown is the disappearance
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Every year since nineteen hundred and ninety nine
Good people have been regularly disappeared
When they thought for themselves and did not toe the line
Viktar Hanchar first, and hundreds more it is feared
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He became an expert at rigging elections
So it mattered not half a jot of a tittle
That to the voters he was an abomination
Though without bottle he always won the battle
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Having lived under Stalin and Boris Yeltsin
The voters had not high hopes for democracy
Some voted for the party’s man but most stayed in
Not having any faith in meritocracy
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But rumours of freedom filtered through the borders
And each year the yearning for democracy grew
The people wanted what were given to others
The right to write, talk and express their point of view
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Lukashenko needed to invest in I.T.
If only to boost his sagging economy
But this was a golden opportunity
To fight electoral rigging ignominy
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Blogging had helped activists propagate their views
And the coming ballot now appeared less laughable
Apathy gone, the voters began to enthuse
About a candidate highly electable
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Sergei Tikhanovsky was drawing mile-long crowds
And this was feeding Lukashenko’s worst nightmares
Therefore his candidacy could not be allowed
Enter the KGB with a list of repairs
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A dawn visit and Sergei was slammed in jail
With his candidacy judged to be invalid
Legal representations were of no avail
But the opposition remained firm and solid
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Enter Tikhanovskaya, Sergei’s wife
Thought to be a lightweight and therefore unlikely
To dent the boss’s majority or cause a strife
But her performance was more than just sprightly
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As she was winning the count convincingly
It was decided to steal the elections
Openly, brazenly and menacingly
Her life threatened she had to flee, there were no options
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The massive demos that followed were inspired
By the energy of the blogs of activists
They demanded that the old boss be retired
And power delegated to the reformists
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The movement became well-nigh unstoppable
Until Vladimir Putin sent in reinforcements
To help the army and that turned the table
Leading to wide-spread arrests and imprisonments
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Roman Protasevitch was forced to choose exile
His Nexta channel had lit Lukashenko’s ire
As such he was the aim of the dictator’s bile
But he meant to continue to fight fire with fire
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From the safety of Warsaw (the poor fellow thought)
He would be able to continue campaigning
And never give up the fight that had to be fought
But he’d not counted on his foe’s evil cunning
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Flying Athens — Vilnius in a Ryan Air plane
He had never expected that air piracy
Would be part and parcel of the quiver of shame
Of the fellow who had strangled democracy
