On 10 May, Belarusian General Staff Head Viktar Hulevich announced the country was facing a growing “military threat.” Minsk is worried about both the short-term danger of the war spill-over into Belarus after Putin’s failures in Ukraine and more...
On 3 April 2022, Belarusian authorities lifted the rigid restrictions on border crossings in force since late 2020. Just as Minsk had taken its own approach in handling Covid-19, it had also developed a unique travel restriction system. Instead...
Since the 2020 political crisis began in Belarus, the EU, the UK, and the US enacted targeted sanctions against Belarusian officials and government-linked businesses. These sanctions did not aim at the economy as a whole. Experts did not expect...
In the fifth round of EU sanctions adopted in response to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the union prohibited freight transport on member state territory by Russian and Belarusian carriers from 16 April. Alongside the EU prohibitions on flights and...
On 23 April, The Washington Post wrote about a clandestine Belarusian network of railway workers and dissidents who helped to stop Russia’s assault on Kyiv. Since the start of the war, certain Belarusians have disrupted the transit of Russian equipment through...
On 12–13 April 2022, Alexander Lukashenka paid a working visit to Russia’s Far East. This was his third trip to the neighbouring country this year. According to Russian media, talks taking place between Lukashenka and Russian President Vladimir Putin...
The 7th Annual Conference on Belarusian Studies conference took place on 18–19 February 2022 in the hybrid format. It was organised by UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies, the Ostrogorski Centre and the Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library...
Peaceful protests in Minsk – Belarus Photo Digest
The Belarusian berry industry – Belarus photo digest
Why is the EU shutting its doors to ordinary Belarusians?
On 30 May, the Danish visa centre in Minsk announced a temporary shutdown of its visa application service in Belarus, suspending the issue of visas and resident permits. The visa centre suggested applicants use visa processing services in other...
Lives and legacies of Shushkevich and Kravchuk who buried the Soviet Union
Stanislau Shushkevich, the first leader of independent Belarus, who signed the Belavezha Accords to dissolve the Soviet Union, died on 3 May 2022. Just one week later, his Ukrainian counterpart, Leonid Kravchuk, also passed away. Both leaders’ lives reflected...
Why did Belarus lift the “Iron Curtain” from its borders?
On 3 April 2022, Belarusian authorities lifted the rigid restrictions on border crossings in force since late 2020. Just as Minsk had taken its own approach in handling Covid-19, it had also developed a unique travel restriction system. Instead...
EU strengthens sanctions compliance while US considers Belarusian transit of Ukrainian grain
On 30 May, the European Council agreed on its sixth package of sanctions against Russia and pledged to increase its pressure against Belarus. On the other side of the Atlantic, US and UN representatives suggested temporarily relieving sanctions against...
Does Belarus have a working plan to withstand sanctions?
Since the 2020 political crisis began in Belarus, the EU, the UK, and the US enacted targeted sanctions against Belarusian officials and government-linked businesses. These sanctions did not aim at the economy as a whole. Experts did not expect...
Belarus and its neighbourhood become a dead end for Europe
In the fifth round of EU sanctions adopted in response to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the union prohibited freight transport on member state territory by Russian and Belarusian carriers from 16 April. Alongside the EU prohibitions on flights and...
Can Belarus use the Collective Security Treaty Organisation to fend off Moscow’s pressure?
On 24 May, member state defence ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), a Eurasian intergovernmental military alliance acting as a multifunctional security organisation, held a conference on the establishment of a joint forces command and combined units...
Belarusian government fears spill-over from Russian war in Ukraine
On 10 May, Belarusian General Staff Head Viktar Hulevich announced the country was facing a growing “military threat.” Minsk is worried about both the short-term danger of the war spill-over into Belarus after Putin’s failures in Ukraine and more...
Anti-war resistance in Belarus: Rail partisans slow Russian troops
On 23 April, The Washington Post wrote about a clandestine Belarusian network of railway workers and dissidents who helped to stop Russia’s assault on Kyiv. Since the start of the war, certain Belarusians have disrupted the transit of Russian equipment through...
7th Annual ‘Belarusian Studies in the 21st Century’ Conference – video recordings
The 7th Annual Conference on Belarusian Studies conference took place on 18–19 February 2022 in the hybrid format. It was organised by UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies, the Ostrogorski Centre and the Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library...
Rising costs of defiance: Number of political prisoners in Belarus hits a record
The number of political prisoners in Belarus appears to have increased by 550 per cent in just over a year. As of 12 April, human rights defenders estimate their total at 1,118 people. The cost of protesting and demonstrating...
Belarusian authorities and society agree on distancing from Putin’s war?
On 31 March, Larysa Sekerzhytskaya, a school teacher from the Belarusian city of Babruysk was fined for coming to work with a yellow-blue ribbon resembling a Ukrainian flag. At the same time, in March, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenka’s regime...
