![stilet.jpg](https://belarusdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/stilet-725x534.jpg)
![ehu.jpg](https://belarusdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/ehu_1-180x120.jpg)
The European Humanities University (EHU), the only truly independent Belarusian university in existence, has struggled to live up to its great promise. After being closed by the Belarusian authorities in 2004, the need for a vibrant and innovative university tailored...
![screen_shot_2014-12-19_at_08.14.05.png](https://belarusdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/screen_shot_2014-12-19_at_08.14.05-180x120.png)
We asked our readers to say what they think about Belarus and why they support us. Watch what Bruce Bucknell, Abraham Epton, Ľubomír Rehák and Matthew Rojansky have to say and their holiday greetings. If you also like reading our articles...
![screen_shot_2014-12-18_at_12.12.34.png](https://belarusdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/screen_shot_2014-12-18_at_12.12.34-180x120.png)
This issue of Belarus Photo Digest is about communal housing in Belarus. Nearly 800,000 Belarusians were registered as being in need of better housing conditions at the end of 2013, according to Belstat. Sixteen percent of them are living in...
![kontrabanda_les_01.jpg](https://belarusdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/kontrabanda_les_01-180x120.jpg)
Since 2014 the pattern of illegal exports from Belarus to EU has moved towards larger consignments. Large quantities of detained tobacco found on cargo trains. On 6 November Jury Siańko became the Head of the State Customs Committee....
![putler.jpg](https://belarusdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/putler-180x120.jpg)
The Ukrainian conflict has exposed growing ideological differences among Belarusians. When Volha Krapotsina was distributing anti-Russian leaflets in Hrodna, a fellow citizen, who empathised with the Russian side, reported her to the police. In Minsk, while some distributed stickers “We...
![sruzhki.jpg](https://belarusdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/sruzhki-180x120.jpg)
Perspektiva`s Entrepreneurs Forum gathered over 200 participants, raised media and government attention. $170,000 was granted to NGOs via state social contracting. International Human Rights Day is marked with series of events. Hrodna Golden Age University is recognised the best educational...
![china_belarus_weapons.jpg](https://belarusdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/china_belarus_weapons-180x120.jpg)
China regards Belarus as a promising market for its armaments. Attempts to establish cooperation between NATO and CSTO have failed. The situation in Afghanistan keeps special services and border guards from CIS countries on their toes: an escalation of the...
![makei_austria_11_2014_3_kurz.jpg](https://belarusdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/makei_austria_11_2014_3_kurz-180x120.jpg)
The days when Belarus was a pariah at most European diplomatic gatherings appears to be a thing of the past. During his recent trips to Vienna and Basel, Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei met with a dozen of his counterparts from...
![kors_tutby_002_20121012_6187_minskiy_myasokombinat_kolbasa.jpg](https://belarusdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/kors_tutby_002_20121012_6187_minskiy_myasokombinat_kolbasa-180x120.jpg)
The new food war between Belarus and Russia may signal the end the Eurasian Economic Union. In early December Belarus and Russia unofficially resumed customs control on the border, which led to Belarus responding to a Russian imposed embargo...
![korotkih.jpg](https://belarusdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/korotkih-180x120.jpg)
On 5 December, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko awarded a Ukrainian passport to Belarusian citizen Sergei Korotkich for “courageous and faithful service” on the battlefield. Korotkich’s dubious past, which includes leading a neo-fascist organisation in Russia and participating in a crackdown...
![whatbelarusiansthink.jpg](https://belarusdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/whatbelarusiansthink-180x120.jpg)
Belarus Digest broadcasted a discussion entitled "What do Belarusians think: people's attitudes towards capital punishment" which will take place in Minsk on 10 December 2014 - Human Rights Day. This is one discussion in the "What do Belarusians think"...
![top.jpg](https://belarusdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/top_15-180x120.jpg)
With the economy dominated by the state and its illiberal trade laws, many Belarusians are increasingly taking to shopping abroad. In the the middle of November, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group reported that customers from Belarus ranked fifth in the...
![screen_shot_2014-12-08_at_10.26.50.png](https://belarusdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/screen_shot_2014-12-08_at_10.26.50-180x120.png)
On 1-2 December the international conference “Regional Stability and Modernization: Challenges and Opportunities for EU-Belarus Relations” took place in Vilnius and Minsk. For the first time since the crackdown on the mass protest against the presidential election results in December...
![vicenews.jpg](https://belarusdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/vicenews-180x120.jpg)
Belarus has also gained some international notoriety recently. American rapper has proclaimed his love for Belarusian culture by launching an accessory line. In more gruesome news, Belarus has been a gruesome discovery that old Jewish headstones were used as building materials...