For example, the state secretary of the Security Council and the defence minister exchanged their posts. The first deputy minister of taxes and duties and the deputy minister of labour and social security were appointed as ministers, of their respective ministries. The former ideologue from the Administration of the President,Aleh Pralyaskowski, who is best known for his plans to control media even on the Internet, will replace the minister of information.

Government staff rotation should be regular, said Alyaksandr Lukashenka, as quoted by Belapan, while meeting with the newly appointed officials. He recalled that the country is on the eve of local elections (April 2010) and presidential elections (January or February 2011). “Everyone should know beforehand who will work in what position, including after the political campaigns are over,” he said. Sure, even afterwards.

The President added that the struggle against corruption is still a priority. “No one will be treated with indulgence,” he said.

In contrast to his statement he appointed Alyaksandr Barowski as the director general of Minsk Automobile Plant (MAZ). Barowski is the former head of the state petrochemical conglomerate, Belnaftakhim. In March 2008 he was sentenced to five years in prison on the charge of abusing his powers. He was pardoned by Lukashenka and released in December 2008, one year ago.

Later on it was explained that his new appointment is “no accident” as Barowski is a political figure who has amassed much experience in “crisis management.” OK, now I see.

For sure, the personnel policy has its logic. Reshuffling staff like cards helps keep them on their toes and prevents them from gaining political and/or professional weight. But it doesn’t bring any changes to the system. It is a bureaucratic game. One of the main results is that today there are almost no prominent figures among the officialdom in Belarus. Apart from the one and only.

The rest are very faithful.