We remember... Vladimir Kudinov
Vladimir Kudinov:
Businessman, Parliamentarian, Inmate… |
| |
 íîâåéøåé èñòîðèè Áåëàðóñè äåëî Âëàäèìèðà Êóäèíîâà In
Belarusian new history the case of Vladimir Kudinov became one
of the key moments, following which the worst prognosis of observers
came true. |
 The
sad story of the retributive sword of the Soviet legal system was
bound to “resurrect” in Belarus at the end of the 20th century.
Moreover, the case of Vladimir Kudinov forthrightly illustrates
the invariability of the methods accumulated by “Soviet justice”
over 80 years and the ensuing level of deformity of the society.
Vladimir Kudinov, a member of the then operational 13th Supreme
Soviet, heard the click of the handcuffs in the night of February
4, 1997. The seemingly minor incident of a car, owned by the Kudinov
Company, being detained turned out to be a trap, set up in the best
traditions of Soviet justice. The events followed the imminent development,
without breaking the preset scenario. Kudinov was charged with attempting
to repeatedly bribe officials – road police personnel. On August
4, the final act of the proceedings, named by the journalists the
“court of the deaf,” took place. Kudinov was sentenced to seven
years of imprisonment, four of which he served in the Minsk Penitentiary
Institution “Colony #1.”
We can argue about the unjust and prearranged verdict until we
lose our voices. We can point a thousand times to the fact that
the parliamentarian’s immunity was stamped down, to the provocative
actions of the road police personnel that night, to the written
and rewritten money-confiscation protocols, to the fabricated audio
recording, used as an evidence of a not-proven guilt, etc. Still,
the fact remains– the Belarusians were reminded of the “power of
force” and the “strength of power” over those who succeeded in winning
back a piece of freedom for themselves during a short period of
Belarus’ democratic revival.
Kudinov took so much pride in the retaken. He was so proud of it.
After 1992 his industrial and trading company “Ivatsevichi” gave
employment to 300 persons. The chain of 27 stores is still referred
to by the local population as Kudinov stores. Finally, a personal
newspaper was established. When Kudinov decided to run for the Supreme
Soviet, he received 80% of the votes in the constituency. As a member
of the “Civil Action” faction, the parliamentarian was among the
first to sign the motion to initiate the impeachment procedure.
This personality obviously did not fit into the presidential coordinate
system of “market socialism.” The consequences are just the logical
development of the definition itself.
 It
is clear that Vladimir Kudinvo is a symbolic figure. The independent
Belarusian business, which underlined the hopes of Belarusian independent
politicians, was being sentenced. Naturally, it is one thing to
have hopes and quite another one to realize them. The utility coefficient
of Belarusian independent politicians and businesspeople’s involvement
in the case of Kudinov was, unfortunately, equal to zero. In fact,
Kudinov’s case turned out to be the sentence to the Belarusian opposition,
which started loosing many of its members. The criminal case against
Andrei Kudinov was nothing but a logical development of Kudinov’s
case. In the end the Belarusian opposition could not account for
itself.
When I hear people say that it is the prerogative of history to
set out things, I always think of people who make this history.
Yuras Karmanov
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