On 24 January the Eurasian Development Bank released an interesting report on the prospects of Eurasian economic integration. The report presented the findings of a research project conducted by a group of Russian and Ukrainian economists under the aegis...
As Russia is finalizing the terms of its accession to the World Trade Organization, Belarus struggles to understand what this accession will mean to it. The question is difficult and important because Belarus closely cooperates with Russia as member...
Last week Gunnar Wiegand from the European Commission announced that the EU was going to extend sanctions against Belarus. 135 more people may be added to the existing list of 208 Belarusian officials who are prohibited to visit the EU. Diplomatic sources...
In 2009-2010 the Russian government refused several times to transfer loans to Belarus when it failed to fulfill certain conditions. Then Putin insisted on the sales of Belarusian industrial enterprises to Russian companies. The Minister of Finance of Russia...
Belarus Digest compiled a list of most read articles in 2011 and wishes you a Happy New Year! 1. Cheap Booze For The People Of Belarus. As the economic crisis deepens prices on nearly all products rise sharply in Belarus with...
The year of 2011 was in many respects a unique year for Belarus. Unlike a regular year, it started not on 1 January but rather on 19 December of the previous year. On that day the presidential election took...
November and December events clearly show that Russia's policies towards Belarus are dictated primarily not by economic considerations but political. Russia is willing to spend billions of dollars in subsidies to keep the status quo in Belarus. The European...
On 16 December two Belarusian citizens were added to the EU visa ban list, and EU assets of three companies associated with the Belarusian regime were frozen. The European Union continues to impose different sanctions on Belarus at the...
In Russia's recent elections to the State Duma the ruling United Russia party won. The Russian opposition claims that the authorities falsified the results in favour of Putin's party. Similar to Belarusian authorities, the Kremlin put pressure on independent observers,...
The Belarusian government spent the whole year actively looking for money to sustain the collapsing socio-economic model. It was looked for everywhere: in the West and the East, in Europe, Asia and Latin America, at the IMF and EurAsEC....
The latest agreements with Russia have saved the Belarusian regime at the most critical point in its existence. Now Minsk has to pay a big price for it by giving Russia more leverage in Belarus. But it had no...
On 4 December Russian Ambassador to Belarus said that he greatly respects Belarusian president and thinks that Aliaksandr Lukashenka inspired many by his policies. Ambassador Surikov is not the only Russian inspired by Lukashenka. Lukashenka's populism and pro-Russian rhetoric...
Last Friday, after months of uncertainty, Alyaksandr Lukashenka decisively moved to guarantee his political survival for the foreseeable future by signing a series of agreements with Russia. This was the sequel to Belarus's earlier entry into the Russian-led Eurasian...
As 2011 draws to a close, the Lukashenka regime has averted economic and political collapse. To be sure, the economy is still in a fragile state: the ruble has suffered three major devaluations since May; inflation has soared to...
