Last month, police raided three gay club events in Belarus. It appears that the authorities have become increasingly nervous about the growing social activity of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community, especially following the largest Belarusian LGBT initiative...
The Belarusian president has always used press conferences in order to keep in touch with his electorate and demonstrate that he is in good political shape and keeps everything under control. Depending on what happens in the country at...
Alexander Lukashenka's annual press conferences involve more than just answering questions. Being passionate and open, Alexander Lukashenka’s unprepared speech can be very entertaining. His press conference last week was no exception.
On Friday 18 January, Belarus Digest will broadcast a panel titled “What do Belarusians Think?”. The discussion is organised by the Eastern European Studies Centre and the Belarus Research Council and will take place in Vilnius, Lithuania. The event will...
As the next summit of the Eastern Partnership to be held in Vilnius in fall 2013 is approaching, the long-standing discussion on strategy towards the Belarusian regime reemerges. Last week, two figures from the western world publicly voiced opposite...
Belarus assumed the presidency in the Commonwealth of the Independent States (CIS) on 1 January 2013. This is the international organisation which was intended to replace the Soviet Union in 1991. For politicians who formed their vision in the Soviet Union, the...
On 31 December 2012 Alexander Lukashenka announced that Belarus had become "a space nation". In other words, it had entered a club of countries having their own guided objects in space. The Belarusian ruler meant the launch of the first...
Observers of Belarusian politics have lately noticed increased activism of a political party that is traditionally labelled as pro-governmental. The leader of the Liberal Democratic Party Siarhey Haidukevich and his son and also deputy Aleh Haidukevich have recently featured...
Belarus started the year 2012 in a rather bad shape. Alexander Lukashenka has been occupying his post for almost 18 years. A dozen political prisoners remained behind the bars. Relations with the West were worse than ever before. The opposition...
The Reality Check is a new initiative which aims to convene regularly a Review Group to contribute to the formulation of a more effective policy towards the EU’s Eastern neighborhood countries. The Review Group includes domestic and international analysts, practitioners,...
In November, civil society representatives convened in Minsk to vote on the Concept of the National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum (EAP CSF). The adopted version of the Concept favours an expansive interpretation of the civil society...
Lukashenka and his entourage believe that their resistance to the wave of democratisation from the West is quite rational and well-reasoned. They hope that sooner or later, if they remain tenacious and consistent, the West will let them alone and...
The Centre for Analytical Initiatives of the Liberal Club in Minsk has recently presented the second edition of its research project - Index of Economic Adequacy of Belarus. The researchers found that the vast majority of Belarusian politicians (both pro-government...
In addition to sending their political opponents to prisons for years, Belarusian authorities make sure they get "special treatment" there. Today 12 political prisoners are serving sentences. Most of them remain incarcerated in disciplinary cells or stricter regimes. Last...
