Loading...
RSS
Belarus-Russia relations Belarusian language Belarusian military travel to Belarus
Why Support Belarus Digest?
Two months of protests – Belarus Civil Society Digest
Two months of ongoing Belarusian protests demanding Lukashenka to step down continue with no sign of abating. For 8th Sunday in a row, as many as 100,000 people thronged the center of Minsk – police deployed water cannons and arrested some 300 demonstrators. 16 journalists covering the protests were among those arrested. Senior citizens organized their first […]
28 September 2020
Belarus reluctantly reverses its security policies

Meeting Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenka on 14 September, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that in the next year Belarus and Russia would hold joint exercises or similar events almost monthly. Belarusian special operations forces on 21 September joined the Russian “Caucasus-2020”  military drills. Simultaneously, an unprecedented number of Russian paratroopers – three battalion tactic groups […]

27 September 2020
Crackdown on independent media and daily protests – Belarus civil society digest

For almost 50 days Belarusians continue daily protests against the illegitimacy of the 6th presidential term of Lukashenka, including weekly Saturday’s Women Marches and massive Sunday rallies. This week, Belarusians flooded the streets after a “secret” inauguration ceremony on September 23, which resulted in police’s use of water cannons, tear gas, stun grenades and detention of over […]

21 September 2020
Daily protests and repressions, international reaction, Coordination Council – Belarus Civil Society Digest

For over 40 days, starting from August 9th, Belarusians continue daily peaceful protests. The most massive rallies on Sundays continue to gather hundreds of thousands of people in Minsk, despite the increasing brutality by the police. Lukashenka keeps pushing a rhetoric of Belarus’ destruction by external aggressors. Independent experts agree that Belarus is passing through […]

16 September 2020
Belarusian state apparatus – strong from the outside, hollow from the inside

On 10 September, Belarusian police detained Dzmitry Siomchanka, leader of the ‘presidential pool’ at the state TV Channel ONT, after he expressed his opposition to President Alexander Lukashenka’s policies. The detention is the most recent illustration of how fragile the current Belarusian government has become after the recent protest wave, as even its leading propagandists […]

13 September 2020
Opinion: No illusions about Western support for democracy in Belarus

There should be no illusions about Western support for Belarusian democracy. At least until the victory of the latter. Almost everything that EU governments do today is either symbolic gestures or the realization of their national interests in the Solidarity with Belarus wrapper. ❗ A month has passed since Aliaksandr Taraikouski’s murder in the center […]

10 September 2020
Economy in recession, protests continue despite repressions – Belarus civil society digest

For a whole month, starting from August 9th, Belarusians continue daily protests demanding new presidential elections. The traditional Sunday’s rallies gather hundreds of thousands of people in Minsk and thousands in regions. Last Sunday, on September 6th, for the first time, peaceful protests were overshadowed by police provocations. Protests and solidarity actions across the country become decentralized and self-organized. […]

8 September 2020
Catholic Church as next target for Belarus’ undermining of civic solidarity

On 31 August, Belarusian border security officers denied a Belarusian citizen, Archbishop Tadeush Kandrusievich, the head of the Catholic Church, return into the country. Amid displays of solidarity among various civil society leaders in Belarus, the authorities continue to respond with increased pressure. Religious organisations have been no exception. Over the last few weeks, Kandrusievich […]

4 September 2020
Prostests persist, economic hardship felt, solidarity strengthens – Belarus Civil Society Digest

For 27 days in a row, Belarusians continue protesting against election results and police violence. The most powerful street actions take place on Sundays and gather up to 300,000 people in Minsk and dozens of thousands in other cities. Last Sunday, on August 30th, a massive rally reached the Palace of Independence to “congratulate” Lukashenka on his […]

3 September 2020
Three pillars of Lukashenka’s support – why doesn’t he fall?

Belarusian President Aleksander Lukashenka has so far lost only one of his important pillars of support – his legitimacy (not to be confused with legality, which he had already lost 20 years ago). That is to say, he has now lost the support of a significant part of the population who had previously accepted his […]

2 September 2020
belarusian_economy.jpeg
Post-election turmoil is taking a toll on the Belarusian economy

The breach of trust in the government since the disputed 9 August presidential election has already cost the Belarusian economy a lot. People are withdrawing deposits from banks, large manufacturing enterprises are going on strike, and IT companies are planning to relocate. While the government tries to shift the blame for the current economic troubles […]

1 September 2020
Belarus at a Crossroads: Political Regime Transformation and Future Scenarios

Belarus President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has reportedly agreed to meet with Vladimir Putin in September to discuss a new integration package which may pose a threat to Belarusian sovereignty. The Kremlin is facing deeply uncomfortable choices: either to provide Lukashenka with life-saving support and push him into integrating more deeply with Russia, thereby causing inevitable damage […]

30 August 2020
Can strikes lead to peaceful political change in Belarus?

Speaking at a conference on 28 August, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenka announced that he was willing to enter into dialogue with “working and student collectives” on political issues, including to prepare a new constitution. While he has a poor record of negotiations with his political opponents and it is difficult to believe the sincerity of […]

28 August 2020
Protests, Solidarity, Strikes, Coordination Council – Belarus Civil Society Digest

For almost three weeks in a raw, Belarusians continue civic resistance opposing Alexander Lukashenka’s rule after a disputed election of August 9th and police violence against peaceful protesters. On Sunday, August 23, like a week ago, a massive rally in Minsk again gathered up to 250,000 people. When the crowd reached the Palace of Independence, […]

27 August 2020
Further evidence of post-election torture, beatings, and humiliation uncovered in Belarus

The mass protests erupting in Belarus since the day of the presidential elections, 9 August 2020, have been marked by brutal repression and unprecedented police violence. Security forces have used tear gas, water cannons, and weapons against the protesters. Thousands of people have been detained, arrested and abused, many of whom have been violently beaten […]