Due to certain superficial similarities between the ongoing post-election demonstrations in Belarus and the EuroMaidan protests in Kyiv in 2013–2014, some commentators have speculated about the possibility of “another Crimea” in Minsk. President Vladimir Putin’s annexation of Ukrainian territory six and a half years ago... MORE

French President Emmanuel Macron’s meeting with Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouska in Lithuania turned out to be even less than a side-show: a half-hour private meeting, without a joint public appearance (BNS, Agence France Presse, September 28, 29). Instead, Russia loomed large on Macron’s agenda... MORE

Sunday, September 27, marked the 50th day of Belarusian protests against the falsified results of last month’s presidential election. Again, many participants of the rallies were arrested, tear-gassed and beaten by riot police. At the same time, the so-called Cyber Partisans hacked the online broadcast... MORE

The annual session of the United Nations General Assembly is being run this year as a video-conference, but President Vladimir Putin deemed his address so important that the key points of his planned speech were discussed ahead of time with his Security Council (Kremlin.ru, September... MORE

For years, the issue of freedom of the press and censorship in Belarus has remained an extremely complicated issue. Most domestic newspapers and TV channels are largely controlled and closely supervised by the government. Apart from that, temporary internet shutdowns in Belarus had become regular... MORE

In Belarus, protest rallies are continuing for the seventh straight week, as are the authorities’ selective arrests of protesters. But against this background, concerned actors and observers alike have been offering competing narratives to explain the situation. One recent illustrative example can be found in... MORE

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak announced, on September 7, that Russia and Belarus are negotiating conditions for shifting Belarusian oil product exports from the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda to Russian transshipment terminals on the Baltic Sea, with an agreement expected in the next several weeks... MORE

In the whirl of the Belarusian protests this summer, decision makers in Minsk and neighboring states have been forced to respond to the repercussions of the political protests even as they try to identify any potential opportunities that have arisen because of them. One such... MORE

President Alyaksandr Lukashenka naturally wants to extend his rule as long as possible, while Belarusians protesting in the streets want to bring it to an end as soon as they can. But Moscow, which has more than a little say in the matter (see EDM,... MORE

On September 14, Russian President Vladimir Putin met at his Sochi residence with his beleaguered Belarusian counterpart, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, who is under immense international and domestic pressure following the August 9 presidential elections. Lukashenka has ruled Belarus since 1994; last month, he claimed overwhelming victory,... MORE