On Thursday, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenka sent out a warning: if Russia keeps export duties on its petroleum products, Belarus will not be able to stay in the Russia-dominated Customs Union anymore. Belarus sees economic sense in the union only if Putin...
Last month the Deputy Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Belarus confirmed that the government wants to introduce a new tax on unemployed people. The state wants to get money from economically active people without official jobs who benefit from free or subsidised services...
On Friday, a joint Belarusian-Russian military exercise started in Belarus and in the Kaliningrad Province of Russia. For months Polish media discussed whether the exercise is potentially aimed at mounting aggression and even a nuclear arms deployment against Poland and...
The idea that democracy will come to Belarus from Russia and with Russian help has been prevalent in the West almost as long as Lukashenka has ruled the country.In fact...
On 20 August, Alexandr Lukashenka held a conference on the future priorities for Belarus' armed forces.He proclaimed that “while analysing recent conflicts and wars, we understood that the most important thing for...
On Monday, Belarusian authorities arrested the general director of Russian potash company Uralkali. Vladislav Baumgertner, who came to Minsk to negotiate with Prime Minster Mikhail Myasnikovich.About a month ago, Uralkali stopped cooperation with...
Last Tuesday, Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius demanded that Belarus to not construct a nuclear power plant (NPP) in the vicinity of Lithuanian territory. He referred to the alleged breaking of the Espoo Convention by Belarus. Lithuania claims that...
In the last days of July, the backbone of Belarusian economy - the potash industry - suffered a severe blow dealt by its Russian partner.The Russian company Uralkali refused to work anymore with the Belarusian Potash Company (BKK), a...
Belarusians have a special attitude towards Israel. In the only world's country where Yiddish was ever a state language, almost every family – even of non-Jewish origin – has either relatives, friends or acquaintances there. It is...
Last month, Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro promised his people that very soon Venezuela would possess the most powerful air defence system possible, capable of stopping any attempt at illegal entrances into the country’s air space. For years, Belarusian specialists...
More Russian military bases may appear in Belarus soon. According to naviny.by, a Belapan news agency web site an entire aviation division may soon be deployed. This report, however, referred only to an expert from the dubious Russian “Academy...
Belarus Digest and the Centre for Transition Studies are launching a series of analytical papers offering in-depth analysis of various aspects of Belarus often overlooked by Western experts and press. The forthcoming papers will deal with personalities within the Belarusian regime,...
Last week, Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu discussed with Alexander Lukashenka establishment of a Russian air force base in Belarus. A few days later, Lukashenka dismissed the claims that Russia will have a military base in Belarus. The news came...
Last Friday, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu visited Belarus. According to Belarusian officials and media the minister came just to sign visa abolition and readmission agreements. The Turkish Foreign Ministry added that ministers had, "exchanged views on regional issues...
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...