Section: Belarus Digest (Belarus)
The Ukraine Crisis Will Turn Minsk Into a Regional Airline Hub?
First Belavia passengers greeted in Odessa – photo TUT.BY The suspension of air traffic between Ukraine and Russia on 25 October has created a new opportunity for Belarus. The national air carrier, Belavia, and the national aviation authorities reacted quickly by increasing aircraft capacity on the routes between Minsk and Kyiv and...
Can Belarus Stick to Neutrality Despite Russian Pressure?
Russian Experts Warn Lukashenka of Ukrainian President Yanukovych’s fate Last week, pro-government Russian experts and media launched a new series of attacks on the Belarusian government. Minsk, they insisted, is going the way of Yanukovych’s Ukraine. Russian commentators agree on that regardless of their ideological colours. Be it...
Belaruspolicy.com, Elections, Alexievich – Ostrogorski Centre Digest
At the Congress of Belarusian Studies The Ostrogorski Centre, the organisation behind Belarus Digest, starts publishing regular updates about its activities, including new projects, and comments by its analysts. During the the first half of October Belarus saw two major events: the presidential elections and the first ever Nobel prize awarded to...
Belaruspolicy.com, Election, Alexievich – Ostrogorski Centre Digest
At the Congress of Belarusian Studies The Ostrogorski Centre, the organisation behind Belarus Digest, starts publishing regular updates about its activities, including new projects, and comments by its analysts. During the the first half of October Belarus saw two major events: the presidential elections and the first ever Nobel prize awarded to...
Belaruspolicy.com, Election, Alexievich – Ostrororgski Centre Digest
Y. Kryvoi, D. Melyantsou, A. Kazakevich at the Congress of Belarusian Studies The Ostrogorski Centre, the organisation behind Belarus Digest, starts publishing regular updates about its activities, including new projects, and comments by its analysts. During the the first half of October Belarus saw two major events: the presidential elections...
Belarus, Ukraine, Russia React to Alexievich’s Nobel Prize
Alexievich at a 10 October press conference. Photo by Nasha Niva When Svetlana Alexievich won the 2015 Nobel Prize in literature, three countries at once tried to claim her success. Headlines across the post-Soviet space called her a “representative of the Russian literature”, a “writer born in Ukraine”, and a “Belarusian writer.” Yet not only...
Russian Airbase in Belarus: A Long Story With No End in Sight?
This month, the Kremlin intensified pressure on Belarus to agree to a Russian airbase on its territory. Last Saturday President Putin asked his Defence and Foreign Ministries to negotiate and sign the agreement on an airbase with Minsk. The Financial Times commented noted that “Russia is moving ahead with plans to establish a military air...
Opinion: Russia’s Troublesome Ally
Belarus’ strained relationship with Russia illustrates the contradictory relationship between its leadership and that in Moscow during the presidential election campaign. The problematic areas include the war in Ukraine and the closely related issue of collaboration in the military-industrial complex. In late 2014, at a meeting between...
Belarusian Combatants in Ukraine: Heroes or Criminals?
Alexander Charkashyn On 29 August, Ales Charkashyn, a member of tactical volunteer group Belarus Fighting in Donbas, died from combat wounds. This is the first known death of a Belarusian citizen fighting on the Ukrainian side. No Ukrainian diplomats attended Charkashyn’s funeral in Brest yesterday. Kyiv has been reluctant to acknowledge...
Presidential Elections in Belarus: Why the West Should Not Hold Its Breath
Lukashenka voting with his youngest son. Photo: Lifenews On 1 September the Central Elections Committee of Belarus announced that four presidential candidates had submitted enough signatures to run in elections scheduled for 11 October this year. Although few question the outcome of this elections and the official victory of the incumbent...
