At the December 2 virtual summit of the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), President Alyaksandr Lukashenka once again expressed his view that the protest movement in his country is a rebellion masterminded by the West. He called the behavior of Poland and Lithuania particularly... MORE

On November 26, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus summoned Ukrainian Ambassador Ihor Kyzym and presented him with a note of protest, expressing strong concerns over the series of “anti-Belarusian actions” held near Belarus’s embassy in Kyiv and its honorary consulate... MORE

The turbulent stalemate in Minsk continues, despite the fact that street protests have been subsiding and their full-scale resumption is not expected before March, as noted by, among others, Belarusian political commentator Artyom Shraibman (Current Time TV, November 20). By then, not only will the... MORE

One of the most popular spots in Minsk today is a formerly unassuming space between a group of multi-story apartment blocks in the northern part of the city, some 600 meters from the Russian Embassy. Occupied by a transformer box and a fenced-in playground, the... MORE

The impression that Russia has behaved uncharacteristically passively in the face of multiple unexpected foreign crises over the last few months is somewhat misleading. It is true that Moscow’s attempts at managing these crises—from Belarus to Kyrgyzstan to Moldova—proved limited at best, and President Vladimir... MORE

Despite widespread international condemnation of his handling of the 2020 election and subsequent crackdowns of mass protests, President Alyaksandr Lukashenka of Belarus had nonetheless made some undeniable contributions to his country since coming to power in 1994. Through a rigid top-down chain of command (power... MORE

The Kremlin is presently redoubling its attention to Belarus, issuing public pronouncements in rapid succession. Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s (Svetlana Tikhanovskaya) calls from abroad for a general strike on October 26 ultimately fell flat. And street demonstrations have been shrinking with each passing week... MORE

*To read Part One, please click here. The protest movement under way in Belarus appears to the world as yet another “color revolution” for “regime change.” The target this time is the autocracy of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka, following the rigged presidential election on August 9... MORE

The political crisis in Belarus has reached either a stalemate or a crossroads that evades easy predictions as to where, when and how it will be resolved or alleviated. On the government side, the stalemate reveals itself in unusual nervousness. The country’s law enforcement chiefs... MORE

On October 12–16, peacekeeping forces of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) conducted the military exercise Unbreakable Brotherhood 2020, in northern Belarus (Mil.ru, October 12). Moscow and Minsk have dramatically augmented the extent of their military cooperation in response to the political upheaval that... MORE