Beltransgas

On 22 November, Alexander Lukashenka met with Putin`s protégé and head of the Gazprom directive board Alexey Miller. During the meeting, Miller presented a program on how Gazprom will develop the Belarusian gas infrastructure and make new investments into the economy. Gazprom...

27 June 2012

Who Benefits From European Sanctions Against Belarus?

This month seven more European states joined the EU sanctions against Belarus. As a result of this year's new extension of restrictive measures target not only officials and politicians but also businessmen. It means that this politicised problem involves...

14 May 2012

Belarus Resists Privatisation of Large Enterprises

Lukashenka expressed on several occasions the hope that Russia would increase the volume of its subsidies to Belarus, taking into account that the West "wants to bend" him. Defence Minister Jury Zhadobin said that Russia should help through preferential supplies...

5 January 2012

The Reasons behind Putin’s Unprecedented Generosity Towards Lukashenka

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...

26 December 2011

The Russian Expansion: Tricolor, Mercedes and a Three-Fold Increase in Salary

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...

29 November 2011

Return of Russian Subsidies: What Are the Implications for Belarus’ Economy?

Belarus has managed to secure significant monetary benefits in exchange for its active support of the new wave of Russian integration initiatives. Generous Russian subsidies followed almost immediately after the solemn signing of the Declaration on Eurasian Economic Integration...

15 September 2011

The Russian Shoppers Are Coming

Thousands of shoppers from Russia cross the Belarusian border every day to buy large quantities of cheap Belarusian goods. Shopping in Belarus became very attractive after the Belarusian rouble lost over a half of its value in 2011. Belarusian shops cannot...

29 August 2011

‘Don Quixote’ Role of the Belarusian Opposition – Digest of Belarusian Analytics

This month Belarusian analysts focused on geopolitical games involving Belarus, the deep roots of the economic crisis and the inability of the officials in Minsk to deal with it. Another topic which began to receive more attention is the...

30 June 2011

Will Russia Provide More Loans to Lukashenka?

The Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC), a post-Soviet economic bloc led by Russia, agreed in May to extend a loan of USD 3 billion. According to the agreement, Belarus will receive the following funds: USD 1.24 billion in 2011, USD...