Myths about Belarus

Is Belarus’ national religion Russian Orthodox Christianity?

There are no reliable statistics. It is generally considered that more than half of the Belarusian population are Russian Orthodox and about a third of the population are Roman Catholics. Protestants account for about 25% of the population. However, the government refuses to register many...
Has Belarus always been under control of foreign countries?

On the contrary, for a significant part of its history Belarus was a center of the Belarusian–Lithuanian State Grand Duchy of Lithuania (1230–1596) which was one the largest European states of that time. This Duchy controlled almost half of Eastern Europe. The first capital of the...
Has Belarus always been an authoritarian country?

Until 1994, when Alexander Lukashenka was elected president, Belarusians enjoyed much more freedom. The press was free, opposition parties were present in the Parliament, and the country pursued a cautious pro-Western foreign policy like its neighbours. At that time, Belarus’ prospects of...
Is Russia interested in regime change in Belarus?

Russia's intention has never been regime change, despite frequent and noisy anti-Lukashenka campaigns and speculations over possible support for opposition candidates. For Moscow, any other president would mean a large new opening to the West.
Is Belarusian statehood temporary?

In the early 1990s there were serious concerns that Alyaksandr Lukashenka would try to incorporate Belarus into the Russian Federation. Lukashenka signed a number of treaties with Russia's President Yeltsin, including the Treaty on the Establishment of the Union State. Lukashenka’s...
Is all Belarusian opposition nationalistic and anti-Russian?

The Belarusian opposition is not more nationalistic than most of the population. Nearly all politicians use both Belarusian and Russian, and the majority of opposition groups support balanced relations with both Russia and the West.
Does Lukashenka want to become Russia's President?

In the late 1990s Lukashenka was very popular on the Russian political scene. With aging president Yeltsin who had serious health problems and a large number of communists and nationalists in the Russian parliament, Lukashenka’s plans did not seem unreasonable.
Is the Belarusian political opposition weak?

There is no political opposition in Belarus in the Western sense of the word, because the regime’s opponents are de facto not allowed to be elected to representative bodies. However, there are people who disagree with the politics of Alexander Lukashenka, and there are alternative...
Is Lukashenka the Kremlin’s “loyal satrap”?

Lukashenka has been trying to build the reputation of a loyal ally of Russia to secure the Kremlin's political and economic support. However, his main goal appears to be to remain in control of the situation in Belarus. Compared to Europe or the United States, Russia is more willing to turn...
How effective is the democratic opposition in Belarus?

Most of the democratic opposition consists of hermetic and fully-controlled top-down structures. They find it difficult to reach out to ordinary citizens or build broader networks. The political opposition has often been marginalized in the country – it is isolated not only...

Orphus system

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