By 2020, the elderly will make up one third of Belarus’s population. In the past, they would spend their lives next to their families, taking care of the grandchildren. It would appear that there is no need anymore for their...
According to a recently published report by the Independent Institute of Socio-Economic and Political Studies (IISEPS), Belarusians have become increasingly aware of the presence of civil society organisations. IISEPS published findings based on polls, dating back to 2012, which focused...
Alexander Lukashenka spent five days in Abu Dhabi meeting with local officials at various levels, managing to get in a game or two of hockey and some sightseeing as well. A UN report presented on 28 October harshly criticised the...
Belarusian women discussed gender-related issues during the talk show "Borsch or career". A new interesting way to promote Belarusian language - Art Siadziba organises speed-dating when people can communicate in the language. A new portal ngo.by is launched. Anyone who...
Belarus ranks 53rd out of 187 countries in the 2014 Human Development Index (HDI). That places it ahead of fellow post-Soviet states Russia (57th), Kazakhstan (70th), and Ukraine (83rd). To measure development, HDI underscores the importance of “people and their...
The Belarusian economy received the brunt of the Western press' attention in October. Belarus is apparently looking to continue exporting sanctioned EU foodstuffs to Russia, while Russia is trying to stop it from entering the country. The IMF is...
Over the last few weeks Belarusian state TV devoted much attention to discussing Eurasian Union integration, how to make officials nicer and the alleged low level of unemployment in Belarus. It also proudly reported Belarus's high ranking in the...
On 20 October the government announced a plan to introduce punishment for sponging ('tuneyadstvo’). It was practiced in Soviet times and it may return to Belarus again. About 10% of population able to work do not pay taxes although...
Last week Chief of the Russian Air Force Viktor Bondarev announced that a Russian airbase would be established in Babruysk in 2016. An article from the Moscow Times on expanding the Russian air force presence abroad, subsequently reprinted in...
The main economic events for October in Belarus revolve around Russia: the ratification of the Eurasian Economic Union, the continued fighting over the re-export of banned European foodstuffs to Russia, and, finally, an argument over Russia’s oil tax manoeuvre. Russia’s...
Belarus Digest interviewed Bruce Bucknell, British Ambassador to Belarus who has been serving in Minsk since July 2012. He also runs a blog about his work in Belarus. Bruce Bucknell shared his views on Belarusian identity, importance of...
In a somewhat uncharacteristic move, Belarus started working on a full-scale border guard on the Belarusian-Russian border. Western sanctions are impeding the development of industrial cooperation between Belarus and Russia, which still hopes to draw CIS countries into its confrontation...
On 30 September, Professor Anatoli Mikhailov left his post as rector and became the president of the European Humanities University (EHU) - a Belarusian university in exile. Rather than resigning from working for the university, Professor Mikhailov switched over to...
Everyone knows that the Belarusian opposition has had little chance of being elected since the late 1990s. Repression against the opposition continues to turn up more frequently in the news than their own actions, particularly given the Western public's...
