Yury Voskresensky (Yuri Vaskrasenski, be, Юрый Валер'евіч Васкрасенскі, russian: Юрий Валерьевич Воскресенский; born 24 February 1977,
Minsk
Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
) is a Belarusian politician from pro-Lukashenko
Communist Party of Belarus
The Communist Party of Belarus (CPB; russian: Коммунисти́ческая па́ртия Белару́си, Kommunisticheskaya Partiya Belarusi; be, Камуністы́чная па́ртыя Белару́сі, Kamunistyčnaja Partyja B ...
and businessman closely collaborating with the regime of Lukashenko. In 2020, he organized a "Round table of democratic forces" intended to become a dialogue platform, but all major opposition figures refused to collaborate with him. Voskresensky is sometimes accused of working for the Belarusian KGB.
Early life
Voskresensky graduated from the Institute of parliamentarism and entrepreneurship and Belarusian State University. He was an activist of the youth branch (
Komsomol
The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (russian: link=no, Всесоюзный ленинский коммунистический союз молодёжи (ВЛКСМ), ), usually known as Komsomol (; russian: Комсомол, links=n ...
) of Party of Communists (PCB) in early 1990s. In 1996, he moved to the pro-Lukashenko
Communist Party of Belarus
The Communist Party of Belarus (CPB; russian: Коммунисти́ческая па́ртия Белару́си, Kommunisticheskaya Partiya Belarusi; be, Камуністы́чная па́ртыя Белару́сі, Kamunistyčnaja Partyja B ...
(CPB).
In 2008, he participated in parliamentary elections in the 106th precinct as a CPB representative against former PCB leader
Sergey Kalyakin
Sergey Ivanovich Kalyakin, ''Siarhiej Ivanavič Kaliakin''russian: Серге́й Ива́нович Каля́кин (born 16 June 1952) is a Belarusian opposition politician who is the current leader of the Belarusian Left Party "A Just Wo ...
. He lost this election. In 2010, he participated in elections to Minsk city council, again as a CPB representative. He was elected. Later in 2010, he participated in
All Belarusian People's Assembly
The All Belarusian People's Assembly ( be, Усебеларускі народны сход, russian: Всебелорусское народное собрание) is a general meeting of the Belarusian Government with industry leaders and other ...
and was invited to Lukashenko's inauguration.
In 2019, at least three companies related to Voskresensky were named by the Russian Rosselkhoznadzor as illegal exporters of banned foods to Russia by organizing their fake export to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan via Russian territory. Voskresensky gave interview claiming that Rosselkhoznadzor's allegations are wrong.
2020 election and its aftermath
In 2020, Voskresensky joined the initiative group of
Viktar Babaryka
Viktar Dzmitryevich Babaryka ( be, Віктар Дзмітрыевіч Бабарыка or Viktor Dmitryevich Babariko; born 9 November 1963) is a Belarusian banker, philanthropist, public and opposition political figure who intended to become a ...
who intended to participate in the presidential election. Voskresensky collected signatures for Babaryka's registration in
Pyershamayski District
Pyershamayski District ( be, Першамайскі, russian: Первомайский) is an administrative subdivision of the city of Minsk, Belarus. It was named after the First of May.Кто такой Юрий Воскресенский? Политический путь от оппозиционера до участника инаугурации Лукашенко и обратно /ref> Several media claimed that Voskresensky was a member of the Babaryka's electoral headquarters, but Babaryka later dismissed that allegation. According to Babaryka's electoral site, 14,660 signatures were collected in Pyershamayski district. All these signatures were later found invalid by the
Central Election Commission of Belarus
The Central Election Commission of the Republic of Belarus (CEC; be, Цэнтральная камісія па выбарах і правядзеньні рэспубліканскіх рэфэрэндумаў Рэспублікі Белару ...
.
On 12 August 2020, Voskresensky was arrested by the
KGB
The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...
and was named the organizer of the protests in
Uručča
Uručča, (also referred to as Uruchcha or Uruch'ye) ( be, Уручча, russian: Уручье, Uruch'ye; translation into English: ''Brookside'') is a microdistrict in the north-eastern part of Minsk. It was founded on the place of former Ur ...
microdistrict of Minsk.БТ назвало бизнесмена организатором протестов в Уручье. Его жена рассказала, что на самом деле происходит /ref> He was sent to KGB SIZO (detention prison), but gave several interviews to the state TV channels criticizing opponents of Lukashenko. On 11 October 2020, Voskresensky was released. /ref> He claimed that he was released because KGB saw his potential and the investigator believed him. After being released, Voskresensky praised Lukashenko and criticized opposition leaders.
On 11 November 2020, Voskresensky announced that he created "Round table of democratic forces" (russian: Круглый стол демократических сил; KSDS) and said that it should become the opposition platform for dialogue with the authorities. It was noted that KSDS rented former office of Babaryka's electoral headquarters. Voskresensky claimed that the opposition association
Coordination Council Coordination Council may refer to:
* Coordination Council (Afghanistan)
* Coordination Council of Leftist Forces, a political alliance in Azerbaijan
* Coordination Council (Belarus), an opposition council of Belarusians aiming to transfer power fr ...
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya
Sviatlana Heorhiyeuna Tsikhanouskaya (' Pilipchuk;, , ; russian: Светлана Георгиевна Тихановская, , Svetlana Georgiyevna Tikhanovskaya, , , born 11 September 1982) is a Belarusian educator and the leader of the Bel ...
refused to participate in Voskresensky's activities, claiming that he imitates dialogue and acts in the interests of authorities. She also called him a "political impostor". Opposition candidate
Siarhei Cherachen
Siarhei Uladzimiravich Cherachen ( be, Сярге́й Уладзі́міравіч Чэ́рачэнь, also known as Sergey Vladimirovich Cherechen russian: Сергей Владимирович Черечень; born 8 May 1985) is a Belarus ...
also criticized Voskresensky's
round table
The Round Table ( cy, y Ford Gron; kw, an Moos Krenn; br, an Daol Grenn; la, Mensa Rotunda) is King Arthur's famed table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that e ...
as an imitation of dialogue. Another opposition candidate in 2020 elections
Andrey Dmitriyeu
Andrey Uladzimiravich Dzmitryeu ( be, Андрэй Уладзіміравіч Дзмітрыеў), also known as Andrey Vladimirovich Dmitriev (russian: Андрей Владимирович Дмитриев; born 12 May 1981) is a Belarusian ...
refused to participate in Voskresensky's KSDS, calling it a "stillborn initiative designed to discredit the idea of dialogue". He also voiced the assumption that Voskresensky is a hostage who tries to avoid going to KGB prison again. Analytical center in exile iSANS characterized Voskresensky's role as a negotiator with the authorities who was designated by them.Партийное строительство: процесс скорее мертв, чем жив /ref> Despite the lack of interest of the opposition, KSDS activities were widely covered by the state-owned media. Grigory Ioffe from the
Jamestown Foundation
The Jamestown Foundation is a Washington, D.C.-based conservative defense policy think tank. Founded in 1984 as a platform to support Soviet defectors, its stated mission today is to inform and educate policy makers about events and trends, which ...
characterized Voskresensky as being "discredited by the protestors as a traitor to their collective cause".
In September 2021, Voskresensky visited
Karpacz
Karpacz (German: ''Krummhübel'') is a spa town and ski resort in Jelenia Góra County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, south-western Poland, and one of the most important centres for mountain hiking and skiing, including ski jumping. Its population ...
economic forum in Poland. Voskresensky claimed that he wanted to meet with the representatives of Ministry of foreign affairs of Poland and start negotiations about the lifting of
sanctions against Belarus
Since the 1990s, Belarus has been actively criticized by the United States, the European Union, the OSCE and the United Nations for Human rights in Belarus, human rights violations and electoral fraud. Various Belarusian officials, businesspeople ...
Onet.pl
Onet.pl is one of the largest Polish web portals. It is owned by the Kraków-based Grupa Onet.pl S.A. It was founded in 1996 by Optimus company. According to Alexa rankings, as of October 2017, it was the 45th most popular website worldwide an ...