UNTIL science unlocks the secrets of time travel, the world will have to make do with Belarus. Little seems to have changed in this landlocked country of 10m souls, tucked between Poland and Russia, since it emerged blinking into independence after the Soviet disintegration in 1991. Statues of Lenin dot the wide, well-ordered streets of Minsk, the capital. Inside bulky ministries, grim-faced officials recite tractor-production statistics as a guide to the strength of the economy, over three-quarters of which remains in state hands. Belarus is the only country in Europe to retain the death penalty: in 2014 three Belarusians were …read more
Source: The Economist
