Bonum Certa Men Certa

From Belarus With Love — Part II: “Techwashing” an Autocratic Regime?

Series parts:

  1. From Belarus With Love — Part I: Schizophrenic EPO Policy
  2. YOU ARE HERE ☞ “Techwashing” an Autocratic Regime?


The High Technologies Park in Minsk
The High Technologies Park in Minsk - an "extraterritorial" Digital Economy hub - was set up in 2005 by a decree from the Belarusian despot Alexander Lukashenko.



Summary: A quick history of the High Technologies Park of Lukashenko; EPO President (despot) Battistelli and his friend Campinos have outsourced some of the EPO's operations to this "pet project" of Lukashenko

For those who are unfamiliar with the country, it may be worth mentioning that Belarus is a former Soviet Republic which has been "presided" over for almost three decades by Alexander Lukashenko, a mustachioed former collective farm boss, who rules the land with an iron fist.



Back in the early years of the new millennium, Lukashenko was persuaded by his advisors that it was time to move Belarus into the twenty-first century and claim a local slice of the action in the global "Digital Economy".

"Tsepkalo was appointed as the HTP's "Director of Administration" and he remained in charge of the project until he was dismissed by Lukashenko in 2017."Back in the early years of the new millennium, Lukashenko was persuaded by his advisors that it was time to move Belarus into the twenty-first century and claim a local slice of the action in the global "Digital Economy".

And so it came to pass that the Belarus High Technologies Park (HTP) was established by Presidential Decree in September 2005.

The HTP was the brainchild of Valery Tsepkalo, a Belarusian politician, diplomat, and advisor to Lukashenko. He wanted to show that “Belarus can be associated not only with farmers and with potatoes.”

Tsepkalo was appointed as the HTP's "Director of Administration" and he remained in charge of the project until he was dismissed by Lukashenko in 2017.

Valery Tsepkalo
The Belarus HPT was the brainchild of Valery Tsepkalo (l.), formerly a close associate of the country's autocratic leader, Alexander Lukashenko.



The HTP operates as a "special economic zone" - an extraterritorial enclave with its own legal regime - where IT companies receive substantial tax benefits and preferences. Most importantly, under the protection of the government, HTP "residents" are free from most of the day-to-day problems typically encountered by domestic private companies in Belarus, in particular the headaches caused by local bureaucracy and administrative corruption.

HTP tax rates
Companies that qualify as HTP "residents" benefit from the special tax regime of this extraterritorial enclave.



"The HTP operates as a “special economic zone”..."The HTP got off to a promising start and it gave Lukashenko something to brag about. Some critical observers saw it as a convenient PR tool for "techwashing" his autocratic régime.

HTP PR
During its first decade and a half, the HTP was something of a success story and it provided useful PR material for "techwashing" Lukashenko's autocratic regime.



We will return to the HTP later on in this series when we will look at how the Belarusian high-tech dream turned sour in 2020.

But in the next part we will have a look at how Lukashenko's "Digital Economy" project started to attract positive media attention abroad, in particular in Germany, and how this helped to raise the international profile of the HTP's resident companies.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Rust People: Drain the Swap, You're Holding It Wrong
Does Rust make sense?
Slopwatch: LinuxSecurity, linuxconfig.org, and Plagiarised Phoronix
Many articles out there are nowadays fake
European Patent Office Illegally Gutting and Outsourcing Its Functions, Acting Like an Above-the-Law Commercial Business (It Won't Stop at Formalities Officers (FOs) and Classification Slop at the EPO)
breaking/violating laws and conventions
Links 19/09/2025: Lobbyist of American GAFAM Becomes Data Protection Commissioner in Europe
Links for the day
 
Links 20/09/2025: Retrocomputer, Antique Phone Experience, and More
Links for the day
Links 20/09/2025: Internet Shutdowns, Media Censorship, and Climate Worries
Links for the day
About 700 New Gemini Capsules in 13 Months (or 54 Per Month)
4.8K would represent a 20% increase
Techrights the Name Turns 15
About 6 weeks from now we turn 19
Microsoft is Running Out of Time and Floating Fake Figures, Fake Projects, Fake Narratives, Fake Excuses
Also, a lot of Microsoft's "revenue" claims are circular financing (i.e. Microsoft buying from itself, which means Ponzi-like fraud)
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, September 19, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, September 19, 2025
Gemini Links 20/09/2025: Navigating the Pressures of Modern Life and SpellBinding Accidentally Wrote Another Gemini Server
Links for the day
Links 19/09/2025: Press Freedom Dying in US, Anti-Austerity Strikes in France, and Alan Rusbridger to Leave 'Prospect'
Links for the day
Offloading to the Sister Site
In the interest of not overwhelming readers
Links 19/09/2025: Coffee Club and "SpellBinding is Now Absurdly Fast"
Links for the day
Links 19/09/2025: Media Freedom Ceases to Exist in US, "Consider Dropping Twitter/X"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 19/09/2025: Thinking and Insect Bites
Links for the day
Microsoft E.E.E.: Git Will Now (or Very Soon) Fully Depend on Rust, Which is Controlled by Microsoft
Microsoft now makes Git dependent on Rust, or making Git dependent on GitHub, which is proprietary
The Right to Punch People (Apparently)
At Brett Wilson, Brett's job title is "Head of Crime" and Wilson normalises calls for violence
Slop or Fake Articles Have Turned Linux Journal From a Pioneering/Trailblazing "Linux" Magazine Into a Nuisance
some sites with former reputation - good reputation - turn into cesspools
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, September 18, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, September 18, 2025
Brett Wilson LLP Seem to Have Had Only One Litigation Client in 2025, He Was Previously Charged, Just Like the Serial Strangler From Microsoft (Whom They Now Represent)
Karma is superstition, regulators are not
Project 2030 to Cover How "Project 2025"-Styled Anti-Media Zealots From America Targeted Techrights and Tux Machines
The common denominator is also their attacks on women
Brett Wilson LLP Failed to Meet Deadlines Set by Judge 7 Months Earlier, Tried to Ruin Our Holiday, Then Had the Audacity to Ask Us for Over 3,000 Pounds for Its Own Lateness
As a matter of principle we will never respond to assassin while we are on holiday
On Claims That After Bluewashing Red Hat Will Increasingly Become an Indian Company
Discussed this week (long and detailed)
Americans Attacking British Sites Only Months After They Leave America
We find it kind of funny if not ironic that this site, originally an American site, got legal harassment only from Americans and only months after it had moved to the UK
Despite Losing Over a Quarter Million Dollars a Year Software in the Public Interest (SPI) Gives Helping Hand to Libreboot
SPI's financial state depends a lot on its public image or its reputation
Slopwatch: Google Helps Plagiarism and Sends Traffic to Ripoff Artists
That Google as a company helps spamfarms is noteworthy
If You Want to Know the Future, Listen to the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and Andy Farnell
We're sure the FSF will have plenty of its own output
Links 18/09/2025: A Taliban Ban on Internet Access and Troubled US Job Market
Links for the day
Gemini Links 18/09/2025: Computer Literacy and Accessing Alhena's Database
Links for the day
Links 18/09/2025: US War on Media (Truth Banned, Cancel Culture by the Hard Right), NYT Chief Executive Warns Cheeto is Deploying ‘Anti-press Playbook'
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, September 17, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, September 17, 2025