Events in Belarus have become a relentless object of attention of political scientists, analysts and ordinary citizens who care about the fate of this country. The presidential election left a large part of the country’s population dissatisfied and they came out to protest. Despite the fact that when and, most importantly, how it will end, everyone tries to predict exactly how these events will affect their personal life.
The current crisis has affected almost every sector of the economy, entire factories are on strike, many people leave their jobs and go to protest, businesses can not plan their activities and are wary of looking for methods to minimize the risks from the consequences.
The Belarusian economy is agricultural and industrial and the share of electronic technologies is insignificant within the state, but there is something to be proud of. For example, thanks to the active position of IT entrepreneurs, Belarus became the first country in the world to legalize smart contracts based on blockchain. It operates a high-tech Park – a special tax and legal regime for the development of IT business, which is a separate jurisdiction, which provides certain preferences to participants registered in it. This state of affairs allows the IT sector to develop rapidly and move the country forward.
It is important to say that the part of people who are employed in the IT sector is probably the most active, modern and erudite. It is these people who actively monitor trends, prospects and move progress forward. In the current conditions, a number of threats are hanging over qualified programmers and every IT specialist is trying to foresee the consequences and join the country’s assistance as much as possible, as they see it.
The political crisis did not pass by the participants of IT business and they expressed their position. On August 13, 2020, the founders, managers, and employees of IT companies wrote an open letter warning of the collapse of the entire sector if violence against protesters continued. They warned that if the violence continues, Belarus may lose all its digital assets. In addition, the letter says that in the near future there may be an outflow of specialists abroad, slowing down the pace of development of the IT sector and reducing investment in the industry. The letter was also signed by several representatives of Israeli companies whose branches operate in Belarus.
“Thousands of people have been detained and convicted. Peaceful protests were dispersed with inadequate use of force. Ordinary people are detained for no reason, beaten and arrested. Internet access was disabled for several days throughout the country, ” the message reads.
Today, the protests are not subsiding, but are growing every day. It is felt that the atmosphere in the country is electrified and no one knows what the final will be.
The IT sector is monitored abroad as well. For example, Israel, where the IT sector is one of the flagships of global digitalization, actively monitors what is happening in Belarus. The international IT company AllStarsIT Ukraine, which is one of the leading companies in the digital technology market, monitors everything that is happening in the world and events in Belarus have not been spared. President and founder of the Ukrainian branch of AllStars Group Solomon Amar says that according to his estimates, the situation is very difficult and he receives a lot of requests from Israeli companies to help and assist.
“We follow and worry about our Belarusian colleagues. We hope that everything will be settled and people’s rights will be protected, and employees of IT companies will get proper working conditions, ” said Solomon Amar.
He also added that he does not advise his colleagues to rush to move from Belarus, because the crisis is a natural process and can always occur. However, despite the fact that this situation is extraordinary, one should not lose vigilance and think about its future.
In addition, Solomon Amar noted that if the situation worsens, it can lead to serious negative consequences for both IT companies and software developers.
Belarus is going through difficult times and every country in its development is facing protests, revolutions or other crises, but time does not stop there, we should look ahead and take responsibility for ourselves. It is important to assess all the risks and consequences in time to protect yourself from the negative that can befall in the event of adverse conditions.
