On 24 June, Belarusian authorities once again refused to include Intex Press, a regional newspaper, into the state distribution system. A few other Belarusian regional publications face the same problem, and almost all of them have reduced their circulation and earn less money than in 2015. Although they flourished in the 1990s, independent regional publications have since suffered due to repression and the poor economic conditions of recent years. Nearly all of them currently lack funds, forcing talented journalists out of regional publications. The West have done much to support the regional press, but could do more to train media managers and put pressure on the Belarusian government to include independent newspapers into public distribution network.
On 3 July, Belarus celebrated Independence Day. The holiday commemorates not only the country’s statehood, but also victory in the Second World War. On this day in 1944, the Soviet army liberated Minsk from German troops. About 5,000 people participated in the event this year, which included military parades, concerts, and a massive fireworks display. Unlike previous years, many participants wore clothing with elements of Belarusian national ornament (vyshyvanka). Depending on their political views, Belarusians celebrate independence on three different days: 3 July, 27 July, and 25 March.
The parliamentary election campaign has begun in Belarus. There was little protest during the 2015 presidential elections. Elections are not elections as such, but became more a self-appointment of Lukashenka through an electoral façade. Yet the elections were peaceful and the opposition called for concord during the elections. Peaceful elections and a democratic façade allowed the EU to maintain the fiction that the Belarusian regime was changing. This coupled with the Ukraine situation allowed the EU to tolerate and work with the authorities. Will the 2016 parliamentary elections, on 11 September, continue this trend?
Paul Goble: Minsk fears that Moscow may organise hybrid war and color revolution in Belarus. 65.5% of Belarusians want changes, according to fresh IISEPS poll. BISS`s Meĺjancoŭ: Belarus-EU relations have good potential for slow sustainable development. Disappointment: economists Siarhiej Čaly Aliaksandr Čubryk analyse the results of the 5th Belarusian People's Congress. REFORUM study: economic crises have a negative impact on the criminal situation in Belarus. IMF mission in Minsk: Belarusian economy needs large-scale reforms. This and more in the new Digest of Belarusian Analytics.
Belarus is one of the world's top 10 butter producing countries. However, such an achievement comes at a price - every year the agricultural sector in Belarus requires at least $750m on average in government subsidies. This is more than the Belarusian army, police force, health care sector and education budgets all together, according to the Polskie Radio Today, even in Belarus not many people are aware that the main share of the Belarusian agricultural sector is composed of cooperative farms or so-called agricultural enterprises. Contemporary Belarusian cooperative farms are the legacy of the "kolkhoz" - a collective farm that formed the basis of agricultural politics in the Soviet Union for its entire existence. Belarus is the only country in the world that has retained such a system. More than 60% of such collective farms do not generate any profit.
City show releases final episode. First Ostrogorski Forum on Belarusian foreign policy and security. Your Tomorrow project assists in looking for a job for Belarusians who studied abroad. Vilnius hosts Global Belarusians Meeting. Art Siadziba offers assistance to BRSM in organising Vyshyvanka Day. Imena online magazine is looking for investors. OEEC launches new educational course for female community leaders. 1,5 year and $2m donations - Belarusian Children's Hospice opens its doors for small visitors. Human Rights Defenders For Free Elections campaign starts releasing weekly reports on observations of the upcoming Parliamentary elections. This and more in the new edition of Civil Society Digest.
On 3 June 2016 President Alexander Lukashenka decided to strengthen the country's antimonopoly regulation by reforming the Ministry of Trade of Belarus. Meantime, state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are gradually losing their strength and are praying for more changes in their public administration. Finally, оn 22 June 2016 the fifth All-Belarusian National Assembly revealed the key priorities of the latest round of economic reforms.
On 1 July 2016 a new law on alternative civilian service comes into effect in Belarus. This coming fall,10, 000 young Belarusian conscripts will start their compulsory military service. According to tut.by 20 of these would like to exercise their option for alternative civilian service. Finally, after more than a decade of debates in parliament and discussions by various commissions, the new law will stipulate the conditions for such an alternative service. Known as “alternativschiki”, these young men will fall under the mandate of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection. In Belarus they will have to serve for three years, twice the time required of regular military conscripts.
Over the last few weeks analysts at the Ostrogorski Centre have focused on the Belarusian-Lithuanian dispute over the Astraviec nuclear power plant, the limits of Belarus-EU rapprochement, and why some regions in Belarus lag behind others. Igar Gubarevich analyses Belarusian-Lithuanian tensions surrounding the nuclear power plant that Belarus is building near its border with Lithuania. Vilnius is worried about environmental and safety issues. However, Minsk sees economic and political motives behind Lithuania's claims. Although domestic policy considerations in Lithuania also play a role, the Lithuanian authorities are hardly willing to jeopardise the numerous benefits of a wide web of trade ties between the two countries.
According to recently-published data from the Ministry of Finance, Belarusian Cement Plant lost $ 16.5 million in 2015. Such news may not come as a shock for the Belarusian economy as a whole, but is a disaster for Kasciukoichy, one of a few Belarusian monotowns. Single-industry towns remain one of the curses that Belarus has inherited from the Soviet Union and almost all of them are now facing hard times. For example, Kasciukovichy, a town in eastern Belarus, is becoming a ghost town, as local rappers sing. Last year, Belarusian Cement Plant, a city-forming enterprise, decreased the salaries of employees and laid off several hundred of them.
On 8 June Belarusian ambassador to Ukraine Valiancin Vialička reiterated that Belarus supports the territorial integrity of Ukraine. He emphasised that Belarus will never pose a threat to Ukraine or allow third parties to attack Kyiv from its territory. He spoke at the presentation of 'Foreign Policy Audit: Ukraine-Belarus', a discussion paper prepared by the Institute of World Policy in cooperation with Belarusian experts. Belarusians have recently produced a number of analytical materials discussing current Belarus-Ukraine relations as well as their potential, and offering recommendations for their enhancement. This article summarises three of them.
In the first half of June, official newspapers in Belarus focused mostly on economic affairs. Belarus-Russian cooperation within the Eurasian Economic Union continues to suffer from protectionism and exemptions in trade and prices, particularly in hydrocarbons. Belarus will establish the Ministry of Antitrust Regulation and Trade to manage the growing liberalisation of the national economy. Belarus presents its armoured vehicle at the international arms exhibition.
On May 20, Acting Chair of the European Humanities University (EHU) Anne Lonsdale announced that the current EHU rector Prof. Garry Pollick will soon be concluding his term. The announcement put EHU in the Belarusian headlines. The unexpected news followed a scandal caused by the leak of a confidential audit report prepared by international auditing company Deloitte for EHU donors. The report exposed alleged violations of tax law and internal financial regulations, purported to be at the hands of a group of American EHU governing board members and Professor Garry David Pollick, a controversial EHU rector.
A large solar power plant will open this summer in the Brahin district, changing the landscape of the Chernobyl-contaminated lands: 85,000 solar panels will occupy an area the size of about 80 football fields. Proponents of green energy praise it as a win-win solution: sustainable, ecological, economically profitable, and a diversifier of energy supplies in the country. The authorities publicly acknowledge the need to support the renewable energy sector, promising tax incentives and preferential treatment for investors. However, most green energy projects in Belarus are in the shadow of the Astraviec nuclear power plant (NPP). In a few years, Astraviec will provide an effective and fast solution to Belarus' energy needs, further marginalising the renewable energy sector.