Latest Articles about Belarus
EIGHT CANDIDATES SEEK BELARUS PRESIDENCY
On December 16, deputies of the Belarusian House of Representatives agreed unanimously that the date of the 2006 presidential elections in Belarus would be March 19. The date took many people by surprise, because it had been widely anticipated both within and outside the country... MORE
BELARUS FACING SEVERE DEMOGRAPHIC PROBLEMS
The image of Belarus propagated for domestic consumption by the authorities is one of relative prosperity, civil peace, and stability. However, that image is increasingly belied by the evident failure to take adequate measures to offset a looming demographic crisis. According to some analysts, the... MORE
AMENDMENTS PROPOSED TO CRIMINAL CODE IN BELARUS
The Lukashenka government in Belarus has taken several steps to ensure that there are no unexpected setbacks in the 2006 presidential election campaign. On November 23, the president proposed several amendments to the Criminal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure that, if accepted into law,... MORE
EU COMMITTED TO CHANGE IN BELARUS
On November 17, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenka declared that he expected to win 90% of the electoral vote in the presidential elections of 2006, a figure far exceeding anything he has achieved hitherto. At the same time he accused the European Union and the United... MORE
OPPOSITION COURTS THE BELARUSIAN PUBLIC
Following the election of Alexander Milinkevich as the leader of the united opposition at the Democratic Convention in early October, the Belarusian opposition has begun to elaborate its tactics for the anticipated elections in the summer of 2006. The Political Council created after the Convention... MORE
BELARUS OPPOSITION CHOOSES ITS CANDIDATE
On October 2 about 1,000 delegates attending the Congress of Democratic Forces of Belarus, meeting at the Palace of Culture of the Minsk Automobile Factory, elected Alexander Milinkevich as the single candidate for the presidential elections of 2006. Milinkevich received 399 votes, defeating his closest... MORE
BELARUS AUTHORITIES MOVE TO SHUT DOWN MAIN OPPOSITION NEWSPAPER
Belarus's main opposition newspaper, Narodnaya volya, did not appear on the streets of Minsk on October 1. On September 20, its assets were seized by the Lenin district court in Minsk, and the printing house and factory responsible for distributing the newspaper annulled their agreements... MORE
LUKASHENKA AT THE UN: PROPAGANDA AND INVECTIVE
Though the domestic situation in Belarus is tightly controlled by the authorities, the administration of President Alexander Lukashenka has been isolated internationally to an increasing extent. It was designated an "outpost of tyranny" by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and the U.S. administration and... MORE
BELARUS: THE LAST SUMMER OF THE OPPOSITION
The apocalyptic phrase "last summer of the opposition" was the title of an article by Dmitry Drigailo, which prognosticated that after the 2006 presidential elections in Belarus, the political opposition would cease to exist. Either it will come to power or "it will be taken... MORE
THE SAGA OF THE NEW RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO BELARUS
The appointment of the former Saratov governor, Dmitry Ayatskov, as the new Russian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Belarus has resulted in a protracted scandal that has complicated relations with Russia and the proposed formation of a Union state. It indicates a clear hardening of... MORE