On 31 January the director of the National Book Chamber of Belarus claimed that the Belarusian publishers printed eight times more books in Russian than in Belarusian in 2013. This data illustrates well the position that Russian culture occupies...
Earlier this month, the newly appointed Orthodox Metropolitan Pavel arrived in Minsk. The Metropolitan has no Belarusian passport or roots, does not speak Belarusian and visited Belarus only twice in his life before appointment. The new Metropolitan owes his position to the...
Violent clashes in Ukraine, caught the attention of Belarusian state TV. In its coverage, their journalists presented the topic rather tenuously. Participants of the Euromaidan protests appeared on TV as hooligans, with the authorities trying to settle the crisis. State TV also warned its...
Earlier this year, Belarusian media published an interview with Belarusian oligarch Iuryi Chyzh. The businessman predicts problems with the Russian economy, supports the diversification of Belarusian enterprises and states that Russia is grabbing the biggest piece of the...
The western press covered a number of Belarus-related issues over the past month, though the economy remained their primary focus. The long-rumoured potential sale of state-owned assets to Russian investors appears to be moving forward. This news is closely tied...
On 5 December 2013, after a month of waiting, Aliaksandr Miazhujeu was appointed the State Secretary of the Security Council. Top police officials continue to work on improving the police's image among the population and fight against negative incidents from...
This year, Russia agreed to supply Belarus with discounted oil only for the next six months, rather than for the whole year. The size and conditions for further shipments will depend on Belarus’ participation in specific integration projects and the sale of several companies to Russia....
On 27 December, Minister of Foreign Affairs Uladzimir Makei held an event with journalists, diplomats and analysts to reflect on a controversial year for Belarus' foreign policy. Though Belarus was tough in the potash war, this conflict exposed the...
Housing remains among a top priorities for ordinary Belarusians, as Belarusian state television noted. This topic became unquestionably the number one issue over the last week. The issue of housing attracted lots of attention from the state media after Aliaksandr Lukashenka’s public...
Belarusian state TV widely covered various topics related to the recent Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius. Journalists commented upon the final reaction of Victor Yanukovych to an offer from Brussels, mass demonstrations in Ukraine and also the interests of...
A nearly four month long “potassium war” between Minsk and Moscow has come to its logical conclusion. It has provided another example of Russia provoking Belarus' president and then quietly accommodating him. As Uralkali manager Vladislav Baumgertner found himself back in Moscow,...
Belarusian authorities sided openly with Kyiv in its conflict with Moscow by be willing to help Ukraine in bypassing a possible economic blockade by Russia. The establishment of joint Belarusian – Ukrainian manufacturing companies in Belarus will neutralise to a large extent the...
On 24-26 October the political directors of the Swedish and Polish foreign ministries – Torbjorn Sohlstrom and Jaroslaw Bratkiewicz – visited Minsk. They came instead of their bosses Karl Bildt and Radoslav Sikorski, who preferred to go to Chisinau, Kyiv and Tbilisi. This shows Europeans'...
Last week the state TV channel 1 devoted much attention to high-level dismissals in the Belarusian government and the celebration of the 1917 October Bolshevik Revolution. On this occasion the state opened over 50 nurseries, houses, sport and health...
