Who wants to be a millionaire?

Uladzimer Peftsieu (Vladimir Peftiev) had offered $1 mln to a person who would succeed in eliminating him from the black list of the EU.

I have heard about that from several sources. Such a proposal could not go unnoticed, as there are more than enough people who “unselfishly love money” in our country. Volha Stuzhynskaya, the head of “The Office for Democratic Belarus” in Brussels, was undeniably the one who had achieved the greatest notoriety in that. I remind that she dared to lobby crossing out 25 persons from the black list of Lukashenka’s functionaries headed by Peftsieu from the list of persons who are banned entry to the united Europe, and thus garnered heavy criticism from the Belarusian society.

None of Belarusian parties have supported the initiative of the Office, which aim is to advocate their political interests at European structures. The negative response of mass media to the strange activities of Stuzhynskaya was surprisingly identical too. The other thing is interesting. Please turn attention to the fact how active representatives of the community of analysts have become. Not long before the “scandal for a million” Dzyanis Melyantsou from the Belarusian Institute of Strategic Studies (BISS) started to prove ardently in his interviews and articles that visa sanctions do not work.

My reader would probably agree that influence of the sanctions on authoritarian regimes could not be measured by the same standard. It is a question of faith. So when a person who is a good expert in international relations is engaged in issues which could not be measured? Maybe we have missed something and Dzyanis Melyantsou had become a preacher?

It should be noted that the BISS mentioned above, as well as Stuzhynskaya’s Office in Brussels work under the auspices of the PACT, a US organization. And the PACT is headed by Balash Yarabik, who is known by his statements about a necessity to negotiate the approval of the KGB of Belarus for the projects aimed at development of democracy and civil society in our country. When the KGB influences how the money of US taxpayers is spent, it would not interfere with the PACT in implementing Belarusian projects… One cannot but admire Balash Yarabik’s resourcefulness! It is strange that a person with such ideas is still at large!

Recently in Riga I saw how lobbyists of the interests of the official Minsk are doing their best for Latvia not to support sanctions against Belarus. I also know from reliable sources that a former Ambassador of Italy in Minsk had been writing letters to high bodies of the EU asking to cross out Peftsieu from the list of persons banned entry to the EU. At the same time, Belarusian officials are saying to journalists in unison that they had not been affected in any way by being blacklisted.

Generally speaking, I do not believe that Peftsieu is really strictly banned from entering the EU in fact. If he really wants, he would be able to come to Europe any time. The problem is of another kind. Black lists mane impossible any official contacts at the high level. Peftsieu may come to any investment forum, and would be told right at the doorstep: “How have you crossed the border? Have you tunneled your way?”

The image is very important for serious businessmen. If it is risky to deal with you because of your reputation, an adequate compensation for that would be demanded by a partner. That is why it is much cheaper for Peftsieu to pay $1 mln once, than to pay in addition for reputational risks to each contractor.

Do visa sanctions influence the actions of the Belarusian authorities and its certain representatives? Are they drawing us near to winning the goal – release of political prisoners and to democratization of Belarus? Practice is the queen of the truth. We know the answer already. Now we just have to deal with the list of those “who wants to become a millionaire.”

Ales Mikhalevich, “Belorusskiye novosti”