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White-Red-White Flag: The True Belarusian Symbol or a Sign of the Opposition?

Earlier this month the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) officially banned the White-Red-White flag and the heraldic symbol Pahonia from the 2013 Ice Hockey World Championship held in Sweden and Finland. Tony Wirehn, Secretary General of 2013 Ice Hockey World Championship, commented that the IHFF cannot allow supporters to use any political symbols and signs in areas where matches are played.

Until Lukashenka came to power the White-Red-White flag served as the official symbol of Belarus. Now the Belarusian diaspora and nearly all opposition parties in Belarus consider it as the only true flag of Belarus. In Belarus it is largely banned by the authorities and Belarusian...

Belarusian Economy in May: Are We in Recession Yet?

Despite the united efforts of the government and the National Bank, the economy is growing very slowly. Belarus remains an economic wonderland.

But if several years ago the growth rates were miraculous, today the miracle is the absence of growth under the expansionary monetary policy and stimulation of investment. Is Belarus in a development recession?

GDP Growth

Dead Organisations in the Belarusian Third Sector - Digest of Belarusian Analytics

Over the last few weeks a number of analytical publications came out. BISS prepared two regular reports on the trends within the Belarusian society and priorities in Belarus's foreign policy. For the first time the UN issued a report on the trends in the field of human rights in Belarus.  

Mediakritika.by monitored how the state and independent media find out the sources of their news. The Liberal Club discussed the possible consequences of the new health system reform implementation.

...

Photo: ehu.lt

EHU: How Belarusian is the Belarusian University in Exile?

The European Humanities University, also known as Belarus's university in exile, is struggling to find its identity. It is torn apart between being the Belarusian university in exile and a "normal" European university based in Lithuania. Some say, it has lost its Belarusian character and gave up on its original mission. Others say that moving away from the Belarusian language and Belarus-focused curriculum is a sign of a truly international university, which the EHU should be. 


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Recent stories

  • How Decisions are Made in Belarus

    In less than two weeks, the Secretary of the Security Council Leanid Maltsau has to submit his proposal on the optimisation of the law enforcement agencies ("siloviki").  This follows the Presidential Decree No. 168...

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    On 23 April 2013 Belarus witnessed a terrible death. 25-year old Yulia Kubareva passed away after undergoing an unfortunate nose reconstruction surgery at Ecomedservice — one of the largest private medical centres in...

  • Friends and Draniki - Belarus Civil Society Digest

    "Friends and Draniki" initiative improves economic literacy by means of in-home discussion meetings.   Following civil society protests, Minsk authorities will not build a multipurpose centre "Park Avenue" on the...

  • Four Western Myths about Belarusian Higher Education

    The Minister of Education Syarhei Maskevich announced on 3 May 2013 that "Belarusian universities enjoy a high level of autonomy". Considering the fact that Belarus remains the only European state outside of Bologna process...

  • Belarus: The Great Patriotic War vs the Second World War

    On 9 May the annual parade took place in Minsk to honour the victory in the Great Patriotic War against Nazi Germany. According to today's official statistics during that war every third Belarusian inhabitant died. Nazis killed around  600-...

  • Young Fashion Labels from Belarus - a New Export Hit?

    At the end of April, the 6th Belarus Fashion Week took place in Minsk. It may come as a surprise that there is a fashion industry in Belarus, and in fact, this is one of the good news from the country. During the last years, a whole branch of young...

  • People of the Swamps Fight the Flooding

    This April, the region of Paliessie in southern Belarus experienced annual flood caused by major local rivers. The flood was the largest in decades. Yet Paliessie is famous not only for floods that turn towns and villages into islands. The region...

  • Painful Lessons of Eurasian Integration

    On 25 April 2013 Tatsiana Matoryna, Director of the Brest Stocking Plant — one of the largest apparel industry companies in the former Soviet Union— blamed sharp decreases in the plant’s sales on Belarus’ economic integration...

  • Belarus Wants New Russian Fighter Jets But Without Russian Pilots

    Last week, Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu discussed with Alexander Lukashenka establishment of a Russian air force base in Belarus. A few days later, Lukashenka dismissed the claims that Russia will have a military base in Belarus. The news...

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Video

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Sports and Democracy - Should We Play Along With the Dictator?

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News from Belarus

  • (im)Prove - EUobserver.com (blog) - 25 May 13
  • Minsk Group Co-Chairs reiterate the need to avoid actions that could raise ... - Public Radio of Armenia - 25 May 13
  • OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs discuss holding summit later this year - Panorama.am - 25 May 13
  • Serbia's State Secretary visits Belarus - InSerbia News - 24 May 13
  • Belarus-Russia trade will gain momentum in H2 2013, Kudasov says - National Legal Internet Portal - 24 May 13
  • Brazil's Para state keen on establishing joint venture with Belarus - National Legal Internet Portal - 24 May 13
  • Ukrkondprom: Problems With Belarus' Restrictions For Delivery Of Ukraine's ... - Ukrainian News Agency - 24 May 13
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  • Belarusian Economy in May: Are We in Recession Yet?

    Despite the united efforts of the government and the National Bank, the economy is growing very slowly. Belarus remains an...

  • Dead Organisations in the Belarusian Third Sector - Digest of Belarusian Analytics

    Over the last few weeks a number of analytical publications came out. BISS prepared two regular reports on the trends within the...

  • EHU: How Belarusian is the Belarusian University in Exile?

    The European Humanities University, also known as Belarus's university in exile, is struggling to find its identity. It is torn...


Myths about Belarus

  • Have Belarusians Always Used the Cyrillic Alphabet?

    The Belarusian language now predominantly uses the Cyrillic script.  Most texts in Belarusian are written in Cyrillic. Nevertheless, since the Middle Ages, there has been a strong tradition of Latin script usage. Following independence some...

  • Does the word “Belarus” translate as “White Russia”?

    While Bela does mean white, Rus is a different geographical and political term than Russia. Rus, also known as Ruthenia, refers to the Eastern Slavic lands that nowadays belong mostly to Belarus and Ukraine. In the modern Belarusian...

  • Are Belarusians pro-Russian?

    Most Belarusians do not have access to independent media and as a result public opinion in the country is determined by the state-run media. However, despite the pro-Russian and anti-Western rhetoric which dominates this media, only a minority (...

More myths »

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Featured story

    Lost in Translation in Minsk - The "Real Belarus" Travel Tips

    Last week, leading Belarusian newspaper Nasha Niva announced that in Minsk there will be signposts put up in English and in Russian....

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