Malkhodr

Greta is Hamas’ strongest soldier according to western institutions.

Considering how soon after the collapse this was I’d say it’s forgiven to hold a pessimistic view of any post soveit leader who didn’t explicitly declare themselves a communist.

He makes similiar remarks about China’s reform and opening up if I’m not mistaken. The whole period was undeniably a dismal time for the international communist movement, and it’s hard imagine someone coming to our current perspective after appreciating the gravity of capitlist victory.

I don’t find it hard to believe Belarus would have been plunged into poverty, the entire soveit trade network collapsed, any country in those conditions would be desolate as can be seen with the entire post soveit world.

I’m pretty sure Parenti actively disparages Lukashenko specifically in BS&R. Calling him an apologist for hitler at one point iirc.

I found the quote in chapter 6 of the book:

In 1996, Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko, a self-professed admirer of Adolph Hitler s organizational skills, shut down the independent newspapers and radio stations and decreed the opposition parliament defunct. Lukashenko was awarded absolute power in a referendum that claimed an inflated turnout, with no one knowing how many ballots were printed or how they were counted. Some opposition leaders fled for their lives. “Once a rich Soviet republic that produced tractors and TVs, Belarus is now [a] basket case” with a third of the population living “in deep poverty” (San Francisco Bay Guardian, 12/4/96).

Link to PDF

-pg 97 paragraph 2