Volha Abramava

Olga Mikhailovna Abramova (; ; born 19 September 1953) is a Belarusian political scientist and politician. A Candidate of Sciences in philosophy, Abramova was member of the House of Representatives from 2000 until 2008, and member of the Supreme Council of the Republic from 1996 to 2001. Although a pro-Russian politician, Ambramova is also a supporter of good relations between Belarus and the West. In her opinion, Alexander Lukashenko's policy enjoys the support of the majority of society. Abramova is critical of some of the leaders of the Belarusian opposition.

Early life Abramova was born on 19 September 1953 in Minsk, Byelorussian SSR, in the Soviet Union. In 1975, she graduated from the Belarusian State University, receiving education as a sociologist and philosopher. In 1988, she obtained the degree of Candidate of Philosophical Sciences (equivalent to a PhD). The topic of her candidacy thesis was: The humanism of using coercive measures in the socialist revolution. She lectured at the Belarusian State Technological University and the Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics, and was gradually promoted from assistant to associate professor. In 1995 and from 1997, she was the director of research programs of the National Center for Strategic Initiatives "East-West".

Career Start of socio-political activity At the end of the 1980s, Abramova became active in socio-political life. She advocated that the Byelorussian SSR should have two state languages: Belarusian and Russian. and on 9 January 1996, she was sworn in as a deputy. From 23 January, she served in the Supreme Council as a member, and then as secretary On 21 June, she became a member of the council's delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Community of Belarus and Russia. In November 1996, during the political crisis related to the referendum initiated by President Alexander Lukashenko, Abramova spoke out against the president,

In 1997, she founded and headed the Belarusian Public Union "Yabloko", which brought together Russian-speaking democrats, The organization coordinated its activities with the Coordination Council of Democratic Forces (RKSD), a body uniting the Belarusian opposition, within the Consultative Council of Opposition Political Parties, through the OSCE Consultation and Observation Mission.

Member of the House of Representatives (2000–2008) Ambramova and her organization did not join the boycott of the parliamentary elections announced on 2 July by the 4th Congress of the RKSD. She thus became one of two people, next to Vladimir Novosiad, who were elected to the Chamber and who had previously belonged to the opposition in the Supreme Council of the 13th term. Due to her participation in the elections, supporters of the boycott considered her a "pseudo-democrat". On 16 November 2004, she became a member of the House of Representatives of the 3rd term from the Kalinowski Electoral District No. 108 of the city of Minsk. She served as a member of the Standing Committee on State Construction, Local Government and Regulations.

On 30 May 2007, Abramova announced the liquidation of the Belarusian Public Union "Yabloko". The reason was two warnings from the Ministry of Justice due to the lack of a legal address for the union. Abramova had stopped renting an office for the union several years earlier due to lack of funds.

Views According to Abramova, Belarusian national identity consists primarily in the bond with the native land and love for native landscapes. She does not consider the community of Slavs to be an important factor, because in her opinion it is only a community of blood, while the Slavic nations have different cultures and are heading in different directions. However, there is a community of nations of the former Soviet Union, from which Abramova excludes Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, but includes Israelis coming from the territory of the former USSR.

Abramova describes herself as a pro-Russian but also pro-European politician. It declares support for maintaining a pragmatic balance between Eastern and Western policies in order to achieve benefits for the country. In her opinion, it is convenient and expedient for Belarus to remain in a military-political alliance with Russia, as well as other organizations in which it is involved, such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. However, she stipulates that Belarus should not be part of Russia, as it is advisable for it to also develop good relations with the West. She describes Russia's policy towards Belarus as pragmatic, consistent with its national and state interests and the will of the majority of Russian society. However, she assesses the policy of Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine in this area very negatively. In her opinion, it does not meet the interests of these countries, and the local political elites are conducting it against the will of the majority of their citizens. According to political scientist Iryna Yekadumava, the "Yabloko" organization she led—after right-wing parties refused to contact the authorities that they considered illegal—had a chance in 2001 to capture the electorate of centrist forces, represented by the middle class, intelligentsia, part of the nomenklatura and employees of the state apparatus.