

This year, Russia agreed to supply Belarus with discounted oil only for the next six months, rather than for the whole year. The size and conditions for further shipments will depend on Belarus’ participation in specific integration projects and the sale of several companies to Russia....

The Eurovision Song Contest became the number one event in terms of the frequency of its coverage on Belarusian state Channel 1. Belarusian state journalists also afforded viewers a lot of coverage on integration with the Customs Union and other Eurasian structures.

At the end of the year the Office of Statistics of Poland published information on the money spent in Poland by nationals from neighbouring countries. According to their report, from the period of July to September 2013 Belarusians spent $250m in Poland. Surprisingly, this figure...

On 20 December, Deputy Prime Minister Piotr Prakapovich announced the need to accelerate the modernisation of Belarus. According to him, it was necessary to carry out not only its technical modernisation, but also its economic modernisation, including improving public administration system. But...

Belarus did not have a major political campaign – an election or referendum – in 2013. Therefore, the political actors focused on preparations for the upcoming elections in 2014 and 2015. The authorities introduced a number of amendments to...

On 27 December, Minister of Foreign Affairs Uladzimir Makei held an event with journalists, diplomats and analysts to reflect on a controversial year for Belarus' foreign policy. Though Belarus was tough in the potash war, this conflict exposed the...

Traditionally, Belarusians celebrated Christmas as a part of Kaliady – a two week long pagan holiday of winter solstice. However, today most Belarusians celebrate New Year's Eve as their main winter holiday. This tradition comes from Soviet times, when communists rejected...