By dismissing his assistant Rudy, Belarusian president weakened liberal positions in government

Former Assistant to the President Kirill Rudy was appointed as the Belarusian Ambassador to China. Belarusian analysts regarded Kirill Rudy as one of the main supporters of liberal reforms in the government, who was not afraid to lead a public debate on the need for market reforms in the country. In addition, strong positions of liberal reform supporters in the government created a favourable environment for the normalization of relations with Western capitals. However, Rudy’s approaches to economic transformations irritated the conservative camp of "strong economic managers" who, along with President Lukashenka aimed to preserve the existing economic model. Apparently, amid growing demand for change among the population, the top management decided to weaken reformists’ positions in the government in order to reduce political risks.