State Border Committee

Belarus struggles to control its borders

On 13 October Belarusian border guards received EU-funded special equipment worth €2.5m. This will help Minsk control the Ukrainian border. There is an element of irony in this: although it works to remove borders within the EU, Brussels is...

19 March 2015

Army Reform, New Gyroplanes and Radar Systems – Belarus Security Digest

Belarus' law enforcement agencies still do not know how much money they receive in 2015, while all remains quiet on the Belarusian border. Less than they would like but better than nothing – the Belarusian Air...

17 January 2015

Moscow Pushing for an Air Base, Protecting Transport Infrastructure – Belarus Security Digest

Despite the worsening situation in the region and Alexander Lukashenka's bellicose rhetoric, spending on national security will not see an increase in 2015. Even common threats have failed to unite post-Soviet countries: leaders of CSTO countries more often than...

17 December 2014

Cargo Trains Smuggle Cigarettes from Belarus into the European Union

Since 2014 the pattern of illegal exports from Belarus to EU has moved towards larger consignments. Large quantities of detained tobacco found on cargo trains. On 6 November Jury Siańko became the Head of the State Customs Committee....

18 October 2013

Belarus-Russia Military Drills, Tajikistan, CSTO – Belarus Security Digest

Belarus shows its adherence to a defence alliance with Russia and other members of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO). In September, already two joint exercises took place in the country. However, the ability of the post-Soviet military alliances (CSTO and the...