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". She worked as the director of scientific and educational programs of the "Strategia" analytical center. Abramova speaks German.
Career
Start of socio-political activity
At the end of the 1980s, Abramova became active in socio-political life. She opposed the transition of the education system to the Belarusian language and strongly opposed the law on languages adopted on 26 January 1990 at the 14th session of the Supreme Soviet, which provided for the establishment of Belarusian as the only state language. She advocated that the Byelorussian SSR should have two state languages: Belarusian and Russian. In 1991–1994 she was co-chair of the Movement for Democratic Reforms of Belarus. She also served as co-chair of the international Democratic Reform Movement.
Member of the Supreme Council (1996–2001) In the second round of supplementary parliamentary elections on 10 December 1995, Abramova was elected member of the Supreme Council of Belarus of the 13th term from the Academic Electoral District No. 242 of the city of Minsk. On 19 December 1995, she was registered by the Central Electoral Commission, 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 of the Standing Committee for International Affairs. Abramova was non-partisan; she belonged to the social democratic faction "Labour Union". From June 3, she was a member of the working group of the Supreme Council for cooperation with the Bundestag of Germany. 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, and supported the motion to impeach him. On 27 November 1996, after the president's controversial and partly internationally unrecognized change to the constitution, she was not a member of the House of Representatives of the first term. However, she also sharply criticized the opposition. According to the Constitution of Belarus of 1994, her mandate as a deputy to the Supreme Council ended on 9 January 2001; however, subsequent elections to this body were never held.
In 1997, she founded and headed the Belarusian Public Union "Yabloko", which brought together Russian-speaking democrats, was centrist, social-liberal in nature and was established with the support of the Russian Yabloko party. 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. In the second half of 1999 and the first half of 2000, the organization led by Abramova participated in talks with the authorities on the democratization of the electoral code before the 2000 parliamentary elections. Representatives of Yabloko participated in the talks until the very end, until July 2000, even after the main opposition parties withdrew from them. Belarusian state media referred to the organization as a "constructive opposition".