Belarusian president reshuffles staff to strengthen weak links in regional bureaucracy

Last Friday, President Lukashenka appointed new officials and made several statements. The president uses staff reshuffles to ease tension in the most troubled regions and government agencies. For instance, following several controversies involving regional branches of the law enforcement agencies, the president replaced two regional heads of the Interior Ministry departments in Vitebsk and Brest, which could also be an attempt to strengthen local security forces in the fight against unauthorised protest activity. In addition, the president replaced leaders in eight districts, six of which in the Vitebsk region, in order to relax tension in society and reduce people’s complaints about failed regional economic and social policies. Lukashenka also appointed the new executive head in the biggest transport hub, Orsha, where social protests against the decree on social dependants held in February-March 2017 gathered most participants. The president is using staff reshuffle in order to reset the executive’s failures in socio-economic development in the regions, where people were the most discontent with the authorities.