page_title: Stanislav Shushkevich
section_title: Political activity
hierarchical_section_title: Stanislav Shushkevich / Political activity
caption_attribution_description: English: “Leonid Kravchuk, Stanislav Shushkevich and Boris Yeltsin”. Leonid Kravchuk, President of Ukraine, left; Stanislav Shushkevich, Belarus' Supreme Soviet Speaker, center; and Boris Yeltsin, President of Russia, 2nd right, in Belovezhskaya Pushcha after signing the Agreement on the Establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Русский: «Кравчук, Шушкевич и Ельцин». Президент Украины Леонид Кравчук (слева), Председатель Верховного Совета Беларуси Станислав Шушкевич (в центре) и Президент России Борис Ельцин (2 справа) после подписания Соглашения о создании Содружества Независимых Государств в Беловежской пуще. Беларусь
context_page_description: Stanislav Stanislavovich Shushkevich is a Belarusian politician and scientist. From August 25, 1991 to January 26, 1994, he was the first head of state of independent Belarus after it seceded from the Soviet Union, serving as Chairman of the Supreme Soviet. He supported social democratic reforms and played a key role in the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
  As a scientist, he is a corresponding member of the Belarusian Academy of Sciences, Doctor in Physics and Mathematics, recipient of various state awards, professor and the author and originator of textbooks and over 150 articles and 50 inventions.
context_section_description: When Supreme Soviet chairman Mikalay Dzyemyantsyey was ousted for his support of the 25 August coup attempt, Shushkevich was voted as his successor, and presided over Byelorussia voting to secede from the Soviet Union. He thus became the newly minted nation's first leader. When the republic changed its name to Belarus on 25 September, Shushkevich was voted as Supreme Soviet chairman on a permanent basis.
  On December 8, 1991, in Belavezhskaya Pushcha and together with the leaders of Russia (Boris Yeltsin) and Ukraine (Leonid Kravchuk), he signed a declaration that the Soviet Union was dissolved and replaced by the Commonwealth of Independent States; the declaration later became known as the "Belavezha Accords".
  Shushkevich withdrew from Belarus the vestigial Soviet nuclear arsenal (both tactical and strategic), without preconditions or compensation from Russia or the West. However, other reforms became stalled due to the opposition from a hostile parliament as well as from Prime Minister Vyacheslav Kebich.
  In late 1993, Alexander Lukashenko, the then-chairman of the anti-corruption committee of the Belarusian parliament, accused 70 senior government officials, including Shushkevich, of corruption, including stealing state funds for personal purposes. Lukashenko's accusations (taking two boxes of nails for his Dacha) forced a vote of confidence, which Shushkevich lost. Shushkevich was replaced by Vyacheslav Kuznetsov and later by Myechyslau Hryb.
  The accusations against Shushkevich turned out to be without merit.
  In July, 1994 the first direct presidential elections were held in Belarus. Six candidates stood, including Lukashenko, Shushkevich and Kebich, with the latter regarded as the clear favorite. In the first round Lukashenko won 45% of the vote against 17% for Kebich, 13% for Paznyak and 10% for Shushkevich.
  In 2002 the world learned about a highly unusual court case. Shushkevich sued the Belarusian Ministry of Labor and Social Security: due to inflation, his retirement pension as a former head of state was the equivalent of US$1.80 monthly. To earn income, Shushkevich lectures extensively in foreign universities including in Poland, the United States and Asian countries.
  In 2004 he attempted to participate in parliamentary elections, but was refused registration by the electoral commission.
  He continues to be active in politics, heading the Belarusian Social Democratic Assembly party.
caption: Stanislav Shushkevich at the signing of the Belavezha Accords with Leonid Kravchuk and Boris Yeltsin in 1991
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