galina dzesiatava

Feminism in Belarus: present but unpopular

This year the World Economic Forum (WEF) ranked Belarus 30th out of 144 countries in its Global Gender Gap Index. According to its indicators, Belarus surpassed highly developed countries such as Canada (35) and the United States (45). However, unlike...

28 October 2016

Going green: towards a zero-waste economy in Belarus

On 12 October 2016 Belarus announced its intention to adopt a national action plan for a green economy. This September the country also ratified the Paris Climate Change Agreement. What's more, the European Union has invested over €10m in...

31 August 2016

Profiling Domestic Abuse in Belarus

The first and only Belarusian national hot line for domestic violence prevention celebrated its four-year anniversary in August, 2016. Since 2012 it has received 8,445 phone calls. The Belarusian non-profit “Gender Perspectives” runs the hotline from Minsk. They pioneered the...

20 July 2016

Belarus Struggles to Contain Cancer

In mid-June 2016 Belarus hosted a regional forum on oncology for the second time since 2004. It brought together leading regional cancer specialists from 25 countries. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) 14 million people annually get diagnosed with...

28 June 2016

Belarus Introduces Alternative Civilian Service

On 1 July 2016 a new law on alternative civilian service comes into effect in Belarus. This coming fall,10, 000 young Belarusian conscripts will start their compulsory military service. According to tut.by 20 of these would like to exercise...

14 June 2016

House of Death or House of Hope: First Belarusian Children’s Hospice

On 16 June the new building of the Belarusian Children’s Hospice (BCH) will open its doors in Baraulyany, just 20 minutes outside of Minsk. First of a kind in the country, it has been helping terminally ill children and...

31 May 2016

Most Vulnerable: Child Welfare Services in Belarus

On 1 June children celebrate their day in Belarus. The first day of summer brings break from school, lots of free open-air concerts, markets, and other attractions. Currently, more than 1,7 million children live in Belarus and about 25,000...

17 May 2016

In Search of Dignity: Childbirth and Childcare in Belarus

The Belarusian all-star Olympic biathlete Darya Domracheva will have a baby in October. The news came in April from the future child’s father Ole Einar Bjorndalen, also known as the “King of Biathlon”, the most medalled Winter Olympic Norwegian. Because...

23 March 2016

Belarus 110 Years Later

In 1905 his grandmother Ida left the village of Novy Svierzhan, about 60 km (46 miles) to the southwest of Minsk. At the age of 13 she set out to travel with her family to the United States of...

8 March 2016

8 Ideas for 8 March: Women’s Day

If you live outside the realm of the former Soviet Union, chances are you never celebrate 8 March, International Women's Day. However, for Belarusian men this holiday brings an eternal conundrum of how to celebrate the women in their lives...