![lu-poro.jpg](https://belarusdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/lu-poro.jpg)
![cover.png](https://belarusdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/cover_11-180x120.png)
On 4 May 2017 Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenka declared that Belarus plans to gain approximately $50bn in exports off goods produced in the Great Stone industrial park. Meanwhile, on 3 April 2017, Moscow and Minsk resolved all their disputes in...
![strym.jpg](https://belarusdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/strym-180x120.jpg)
On 25 March, a record number of Internet users visited the website of the independent Belarusian newspaper Nasha Niva. 109,000 Internet users read articles describing the protests against the social parasite law. In Belarus, this is nothing to...
![l-p4.jpeg](https://belarusdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/l-p4-180x120.jpeg)
Belarus’s recent regression in the human rights field has failed to visibly affect the intensity of its contacts with Europe. However, European governments seem to have taken note of the criticism they received for their initially meek reaction and...
![25march2017f2.jpg](https://belarusdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/25march2017f2-180x120.jpg)
On 21 March 2017, the Belarusian authorities began a programme of repression against civil society activists, which is still ongoing. These measures followed mass protests of the population against the unpopular economic policies of the government, including the famous...
![putin-luka_3_april.jpg](https://belarusdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/putin-luka_3_april-180x120.jpg)
In April, analysts at the Ostrogorski Centre discussed the results of negotiations between Putin and Lukashenka in Saint Petersburg, ways to respond to continuing political repression in Belarus, prospects for Belarusian-Turkmen relations, and achievements of Belarusian-Chinese cooperation over the...
![5.jpg](https://belarusdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/5_0-180x120.jpg)
On 23 February, the administration of the Belarusian State University expelled the youth activist Yury Lukashevich. The former student claims that the reason behind his expulsion lies in his political activism and board membership in an oppositional party. While the...
![camce.jpg](https://belarusdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/camce-180x120.jpg)
Next month, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenka will head for China. While he remains isolated in the West, this will be his tenth visit to Beijing. Addressing the Belarusian parliament on 21 April, Lukashenka gave much attention to Belarusian-Chinese relations...
![eu-by_dialogue.jpg](https://belarusdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/eu-by_dialogue-180x120.jpg)
Andrej Kazakievič: the protests will inevitably fade due to the lack of organisation. Arciom Šrajbman makes optimistic forecast after the recent dispersal of protests. Chatham House: Belarus will still sooner or later be faced with a decisive choice between...
![2.jpg](https://belarusdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/2_1-180x120.jpg)
On 31 March, Arciom Basciuk, a soldier in the Belarusian army, committed suicide because of hazing. Less than a year earlier, another soldier shot himself during a military exercise for the same reason. Psychological pressure and the hierarchical structure...
![milk_production.jpg](https://belarusdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/milk_production-180x120.jpg)
Lukashenka finally signs laws on implementaiton of the Eurasian Customs Code. After a presidential meeting in Saint Petersburg, Russia approves additional credit for Belarus. Foreign visitors of the 2019 Eurogames are to enjoy more beneficial visa-free regime. Legislation on business...
![300317_tkm-belarus_smi_yuzlenme.jpg](https://belarusdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/300317_tkm-belarus_smi_yuzlenme-180x120.jpg)
On 30-31 March, talks were held in Ashgabat between Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenka. The launch of the $1bn Garlyk potash fertiliser plant which Belarus built in the country differentiated this encounter from other such...
![kryvoi.jpg](https://belarusdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/kryvoi-180x120.jpg)
Belarus has recently moved to the headlines of major international news outlets because of massive protests against the rule of president Lukashenka. But unlike in Ukraine, protests in Belarus has not yet lead to political changes. The KCL Eurasia Society,...
![kasinerau.jpg](https://belarusdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/kasinerau-180x120.jpg)
Dramatic deterioration of human rights situation in March: over 900 people subjected to various forms of repression, according to Viasna. BY_Help initiative collects $27K to help detainees of the March protests in Belarus. Urban Forester's volunteers plant 20,000 trees. 34 Media Days project...
![sb_whiteleg-apgah.jpg](https://belarusdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/sb_whiteleg-apgah-180x120.jpg)
On 11 April, the official Belarusian media launched a massive propaganda campaign. They aimed at revealing the alleged plans of a group called White Legion to destabilise the country and overthrow the government. The White Legion is a patriotic...