
Latest Articles about Belarus

Moscow Worried Orthodox in Belarus and Moldova May Gain Autocephaly
Moscow is increasingly anxious about potential new moves in Belarus and Moldova in the coming weeks toward achieving autocephalous status for the local Christian Orthodox churches. Such an outcome would further undermine President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to promote his “Russian World” (“Russkiy Mir”)—an ideological concept... MORE

Belarus Struggles to Circumvent Western Sanctions Against Its Oil Industry
On July 29, Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka appointed Mikhail Kostechko to serve as the new general director of the country’s main oil products trader, Belorusskaya Neftyanaya Kompaniya (BNK), and ordered him to maintain foreign market share regardless of the activity of the “Western scumbags” (President.gov.by,... MORE

A Year On: The International Dimension of Belarus’s Political Crisis
The international situation both triggered the ongoing crisis in Belarus—at least in the minds of some observers—and continues to have implications for its evolution. According to Belarusian KGB head Ivan Tertel, the August–September 2020 rallies protesting the official presidential election results were expressly sparked from... MORE

Autocratic Symbiosis Drags Belarus and Russia Down
One of the most memorable stories from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics was the non-start of Belarusian athlete Kristina Timanovskaya, who dared to criticize her country’s sport authorities and found herself escorted by coaches to the airport, where she managed to flee. Russian mainstream media provided... MORE

The Diplomatic Triumph of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and the Fate of the Belarusian Opposition
On July 28, United States President Joseph Biden held a 15-minute face-to-face talk with Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who many in the West consider to be the leader of Belarusian opposition. The opposition-minded media outlets and social networks conveyed a sense of triumph. Indeed, since the August... MORE

Belarusian Politics and the Tyranny of Simple Solutions
On July 20, Belarus’s President Alyaksandr Lukashenka conducted a foreign policy revision meeting. That same day, the Roundtable of Democratic Forces, a group headed by Yury Voskresensky, published a draft for a new constitution; and Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, widely seen in the West as the leader... MORE

Naval Parade Plays Into Putin’s Dangerous Vanity
Combat ships lined the Neva River in St. Petersburg and crowded the harbor of the nearby Kronstadt naval base last Sunday (July 25) for the parade marking the 325th anniversary of Russia’s navy, the Military-Maritime Fleet (Voyenno-Morskoy Flot—VMF). It was only the sixth such Navy... MORE

Minsk Retaliates Against European Sanctions by Ridding Country of ‘Agents of Western Influence’
In Belarus, the government’s assault on media outlets and other entities with Western funding continues. Just on July 14, the authorities conducted searches of the offices of 23 entities, including the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, the Viasna Human Rights Center (connected to Human Rights Watch), the... MORE

Belarus’s Political Crisis as a Theater of the Absurd
On July 6, a Belarusian court handed a 14-year prison sentence to Victor Babariko (BelTA, July 6), perhaps President Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s strongest political rival. Babariko was arguably best positioned to actually win a would-be free and fair presidential election against the incumbent, if he had... MORE

Chasing Success, Poland and Lithuania Mull New Energy Projects
On July 1, Lithuanian Energy Minister Dainius Kreivys paid a visit to Mazeikiai oil refinery (the only refinery in the Baltic States; fully owned by the Polish oil and natural gas major PKN ORLEN) to meet with ORLEN management. The parties signed a letter of... MORE