100 posts
"The Biggest Hits For Europe's Last Dictator" by Franak Vyachorka and RFE/RL's Belarus Service
NEW
During his 18 years as president, Lukashenka has been the hero of many songs, and not only in Belarus. Here is a Top 10 list of songs about the man once dubbed "Europe's last dictator." Read more: http://www.rferl.org/content/lukashenk...
“Undemocratic” elections in Belarus
NEW
6 language versions available “Undemokratische” Wahl in Belarus Elecciones “antidemocráticas” en Bielorrusia Élections “non démocratiques” en Biélorussie Elezioni “non democratiche” in Bielorussia &...
The election that wasn't
NEW
ELECTION morning in Minsk on Sunday hardly held the thrills of the American election season, or the attention from media and public that upcoming votes in Georgia or Ukraine may command. As expected, it was far from a shining display of democracy. In...
Belarus's non-election
NEW
ONE can hardly say Belarus is gripped by election fever. On a notice board in the centre of Zaslawye, a small town outside Minsk, a single A4 poster is the only indication that parliamentary polls will take place on Sunday. It is crowded out by notic...
Lukashenko vs European Union. An escalation
NEW
Belarus orders Sweden to close its embassy after the teddy bear attack. EU ambassadors in Brussels will meet tomorrow (10 August), in response to the expulsion of Swedish diplomats. Questions: 1. How would you read this decision of Lukashenka? So...
Belarus expels Swedish ambassador, EU weighs response
NEW
By Andrei Makhovsky, Foo Yun Chee Belarus has expelled Sweden’s ambassador over his actions to support democr...
Belarus President Fires Officials Over Teddy Bear Drop
NEW
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko fired the head of the country’s air force and border guard service Tuesday over their failure to intercept a small aircraft that dropped dozens of teddy bears in a pro-democracy protest earlier this month.
Russia, Belarus: Medvedev and the “Belarusian Circus”
NEW
A picture says more than a thousand words, the saying goes. An Instagram snapshot that the Russian PM Dmitry Medvedev tweeted as a tacit comment to his visit to Minsk sure does: the "Belarusian Circus."...
Belarus: Views From the Ground
NEW
Below is a selection of some "views from the ground" - recent posts by Belarusian bloggers about the situation in the country and what it is like for ordinary people to live there.
Heartbreak hotel
NEW
FOREIGN ministers like to swap tips on hotels. But the swanky new Kempinski hotel in Minsk, due to be completed next year, is not likely to be a favourite for European diplomats. It was the subject of acrimonious debate among EU foreign...
In Belarus, the freedom of the internet is at stake | Mike Harris
NEW
Europe's last dictatorship is clamping down on online activism, with a new law effectively requiring everyone to be a state spyAs of this morning, the internet in Belarus got smaller. A draconian new law is in force that allows the authorities to pro...
Eurosphere roundup: Hungary and Belarus not so examplary for Europe…
NEW
MAIN FOCUS: Hungarians protest against new constitution | 03/01/2012 from euro|topics Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Budapest on Monday evening against Hungary’s right-wing conservative government and the controversial ne...
Belarus: Is there life after Lukashenka?
NEW
Here is a question: which European country has seen its credit rating downgraded to B/B with a negative outlook for this year and its economy in a free fall? Some may think Greece is the obviousRead more…...
The shadow of Castro in Belarus
NEW
Almost exactly two months since the rigged presidential elections in Belarus, the trials of civic activists who took part in the post-election protests – including five former presidentialRead more…...
EU targets Europe's last dictatorship
NEW
The EU is threatening to cut off relations with its Eastern neighbour Belarus and impose a travel ban on its leaders following a brutal crackdown on dissidents in the country during a rigged election last month. It is perhaps the most crucial test of...
Belarus orders international watchdog to close its Minsk office
NEW
The world's largest regional security organization must close its doors in Minsk, after the Belarusian government refused to extend its mandate. The OSCE had criticized the election of President Alexander Lukashenko. READ MORE...
The West should follow Poland’s lead on Belarus
NEW
MEMPHIS, Tennessee — The human and civil rights drama unfolding in Belarus in the aftermath of the electoral fraud perpetrated by the regime of Aleksandr Lukashenko should be a teaching moment. It shows that hopes of bringing Belarus closer t...
Belarus Shuts Down OSCE Office
NEW
Image via Wikipedia Radio Free Europe is reporting that the Government of Belarus has ordered the shut down of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe‘s (OSCE) office in Minsk. This was because it had fulfilled its mandate accor...
What should the EU do about Belarus?
NEW
The European Union tangles with a knotty problem to its east...
Belarus may seem a far away country, but we have to confront Europe's Mugabe | Timothy Garton Ash
NEW
A brutal KGB crackdown in the continent's last dictatorship confronts us with the limits and illusions of EU powerHappy Christmas? Not for Belarus. Grandfather Frost, the Russosphere version of Santa Claus, came early to Minsk this year, and the pres...
Free the Political Prisoners in Belarus Now
NEW
MINSK—Peace and quiet reign on Independence Square — Christmas trees sparkle in the snow, the traffic is flowing, people are heading home to prepare for the holidays. Yet on Sunday, this square in the center of the Belarusian capital witnesse...
Belarus elections: facebook birthday boy?
NEW
On 19 December the Belarusians will be electing their new president. In a bimonthly series, one Frenchwoman in Berlin discusses the latest ludicrousness from Lukashenko land. Post one: how autocrats change their birthdays...
Customs Union Project Shows Moscow's Power Deficit
NEW
At the beginning of July, Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus signed a number of protocols establishing a customs union between the three countries. The union, scheduled to be fully operational in January 2012, will create a single common market of about...
Photos of the unseen
NEW
An American photographer captures the elusive spirit of national identity in Belarus...
