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This ban is an interesting development for a simple reason, it clearly shows that freedom of speech does not exist in Belarussia. Furthermore, it shows that the government cares little about economics, since online dating has been shown to generate substantial income. Any wonder why people can't wait to leave the country?
The government seems to have instituted this regulation for a noble reason, which is to keep their citizens from migrating en masse. However, wouldn't one say that the government is barking up the wrong tree on the problem? The proper question to ask would have been why Belarussians would want to leave home in the first place. A real solution would be to fix the economy so that people wouldn't have a reason to seek emigrating to other countries in search of a better life.
Belarussians must feel a wave of deja vu blowing over them once again. In the old days of Soviet communism, Russians couldn't obtain passports for International travel. The only way at that time to leave the country was to get married to a foreigner. The Russian block has broken ground since then following Mikhail Gorbachev's effort in bringing the cold war to an end.
Belarussians have been able to travel freely to other countries, as long as they could show they had sponsors in the destination country. Unfortunately, the latest move against online dating throws Belarussians back almost 20 years. Just when the people are beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel, the government changes horses in midstream.
Why is the government so alarmed about its people relocating anyway? A good guess would be that a typical Belarussian abroad would be able to financially assist more people back home, than he or she could living in Belarussia. Keeping people in a place under duress does not hold water as a solution against emigration. As long as the imbalance between the world economy and Belarussia's economy remains, human osmosis would continue to occur.