On 13 March, Belarus hosted a high level guest – Serbian president Tomislav Nikolić. Nikolić and Serbian businessman Dragomir Karić symbolically launched a new construction project near national library. Today Serbian company Astra Investment is one of the largest investors in...
On 22 March Belarus state leader completed his visit to Singapore where he was trying to find new markets. He spent a week in Indonesia and Singapore, together with a delegation of 80 people. The state of the Belarusian economy is deteriorating,...
Belarusian experts discuss migration, philosophy of barricades and coexistence, urban development and the readiness of the official Minsk to start another cycle of the Belarusian-European relations among other issues. Human Capital: Leave Cannot Stay – BISS paper examines migration and immigration attitudes...
On 15 March 2013 Alexander Lukashenka congratulated Belarusians on the Constitution Day. Since this document entered into force in 1994 it has suffered two substantial revisions, each of which emphasised the further decline into an authoritarian abyss. Nowadays the Belarusian Constitution...
While economic growth seems to be recuperating in January and February, it remains below the wishful forecasts of the government. At the same time, the situation with current account balance continues to be the pressing matter, as the government is...
Belarus is awaiting reforms to the public administration system, ordered by Alexander Lukashenka last year. It looks like the president’s main motive is to save money. Considerations of efficiency come second. However, the existing system of public administration cannot...
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkadiy Dvorkovich visited Minsk on an official visit in February. A number of experts believe that in the near future, Lukashenka's regime will make important concessions to Russia and sell major enterprises to Russian companies...
The snow storm “Xavier” did not discourage Belarusian civil society from new projects and initiatives. BISS recently discussed migration and Liberal Club “diagnosed” Belarus at roundtables in Minsk. The DisRight Office launched a new phase of an accessibility campaign. The Festival...
Large parts of Belarus and the Belarusian capital Minsk have spent this weekend under exceptional circumstances. The cyclone Javier has paralysed large parts of the country for almost two days. While similar weather conditions in the USA would make it...
In his congratulation letter to the newly elected Pope Francis, Alexander Lukashenka invited the Pontiff to visit the "friendly Belarusian land". Although two previous Popes declared the wish to come to Minsk, neither actually had a chance to meet the...
The Russian government severely restricted gambling in Russia in 2009, and the Belarusian authorities quickly spotted an opportunity. Gambling supplemented by other services became a source of high profit for local authorities and businesses, which are often the same in Belarus....
In early March, the U.N. Security Council's independent panel of experts raised the issue of Belarusian and Russian arms sold to Sudan. According to the experts, Sudan had used these weapons in the Darfur region, violating a Security Council resolution and written...
On 26 February 2012, Minister of Education Syarhei Maskevich announced a substantial increase of a minimum passing grade to Belarusian universities. The government wants to decrease the number of poorly performing students and to redirect young people to technical colleges...
Alexander Lukashenka took part in the funeral of Venezuelan former President Hugo Chavez. Standing together by the coffin of their friend, Lukashenka and Ahmadinejad could not stop the tears. Isolated from the West, the Belarusian ruler does not have much...
