On May 6, the video address of Syamion Sharetski, Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Belarus of the XIII convocation, was published on the Youtube channel LifeFeed to mark Victory Day.
Syamion Sharetski was born before the beginning of the Second World War, in 1936. His father and uncle were killed in that war. He said that he still remembers May 9, 1945, when he heard the news of the victory of the anti-Hitler coalition and took as an insult the statement of Alyaksandr Lukashenka, who had said that he “wants to build such a state and establish such order as existed in Germany during Hitler.” Lukashenka did not make such a statement publicly but praised Hitler’s order in an interview in late 1995.
“And now embittered and distraught from being distrusted by an absolute majority of voters in the past August 9, 2020 elections, continuing to usurp power in the republic, [Lukashenka] is carrying out with his criminal desires, resulting in deaths, hundreds maimed, thousands imprisoned in jails and concentration camps,” said Sharetski.
He congratulated the Belarusians on Victory Day and wished “endurance, courage, and a speedy deliverance from the regime, which is headed by a fighter for Hitler’s orders.”
The Supreme Soviet (parliament) of the Republic of Belarus existed in 1991-1996 as a successor of the Supreme Soviet of the BSSR. Until 1994 it was the supreme body of power. It consisted of 260 deputies of one chamber. Stanislau Shushkevich was the first chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Belarus and the de-facto head of the state, who had been the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the BSSR since September 9, 1991. In 1994, he was succeeded by Miachyslau Hryb, and in 1996 the position was taken by Syamion Sharetski. The activity of the Supreme Soviet was terminated following the 1996 referendum, when the new Constitution proposed by Lukashenka was adopted, which significantly expanded its powers. The Supreme Soviet was replaced by the House of Representatives, the lower house of the National Assembly (in early 1997, the upper house, the Council of the Republic, was also formed). It was loyal to Lukashenka.
