1991 Belarusian strikes
[1] On 19 March 1991, the Cabinet of Ministers of the Soviet Union issued a decree titled "On the reform of retail prices and social protection of the population" (Russian: О реформе розничных цен и социальной защите населения, romanized: O reforme roznichnykh tsen i sotsialnoy zashchite naselennya) in an effort to resolve the budget deficit caused by the economic crisis.Over the course of the day, the crowd grew to 50,000, as other factory workers joined the protest, and the group marched from Daŭhrabrodskaja Street to the Government House.Vyacheslav Kebich, Chairman of the Council of Ministers, was additionally opposed to the strikes, though took a much more conciliatory line than the Soviet central government and worked to reduce prices.[3] Shushkevich claimed in an address to the protesters that the government was working to bring their demands to fruition, saying, "In truth, we have no dispute that the political questions you raised should be considered.The next day, Shushkevich appeared with Mikhail Myasnikovich, first deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers, on television, where he spoke in opposition to the demands of the strikers.Trains into the Russian SFSR, including from Moscow to Paris, from Leningrad to Odesa, and from Minsk to Smolensk,[3] did not function as a result of the strikes, leading to an intervention by OMON riot police on the evening of 25 April 1991.