Western organizations tend to use a single set of criteria to evaluate the electoral processes and the sundry aspects of the democracy and human rights situations in various non-Western countries. Many consumers of those ratings give no second thought to this practice, implicitly believing that... MORE

Many observers have concluded that Moscow’s new $2 billion aid package to Belarus is part of a deal to allow Russia to establish a military airbase on the territory of its western neighbor. But it is increasingly clear that Belarus has no intention of allowing... MORE

On April 21, President Alyaksandr Lukashenka delivered his annual “report to the Belarusian people and the National Assembly [parliament].” When speaking about the economy, Lukashenka did not use the words “crisis” or even “decline”; yet, he recognized the country’s inadequate labor productivity and competitiveness (Tut.by,... MORE

Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka paid a visit to Turkey, last week, in conjunction with the April 14–15 Istanbul meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Founded in 1969, the OIC has 57 members and holds meetings once every three years. At the Istanbul meeting,... MORE

The new (March) quarterly survey by the Western-funded Independent Institute for Socio-Economic and Political Studies (IISEPS)—a polling firm widely considered by Western experts to be the most reputable such organization operating inside Belarus—confirmed a fundamental cultural proximity between Belarus and Russia. According to the results,... MORE

In the past week, two notable events sparked heated debate in the Belarusian and Russian press: the dispensation to Belarus of a Russian $2 billion loan and a visit to Minsk by Michael Carpenter, the United States’ Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine... MORE

On March 25, opposition-minded Belarusians celebrated Freedom Day (Dzen Voli). On that day, in 1918, the Belarusian People’s Republic (BPR) was proclaimed in Minsk, under German military occupation. The quasi-state lasted barely eight months, when, on December 10, 1918, the Red Army recaptured Minsk. The... MORE

On March 11, Yury Chyzh, one of Belarus’s wealthiest entrepreneurs, was arrested. Chyzh heads Triple, a conglomerate with 5,000 employees and assets in various businesses, including the oil trade, construction, the import of alcoholic beverages, the hotel industry and other sectors. By the standards of... MORE

Belarus-Ukraine relations are often ignored as a crucial factor for regional developments in Europe’s East, as well as for each country’s foreign policy. For example, the recently released study “Ukrainian Prism: Foreign Policy in 2015” does not mention Belarus among Ukraine’s key foreign policy partners... MORE

In January 2016, Belarus’s gross domestic product (GDP) was 4.3 percent lower than in January 2015 (Infofocus, February 2016). Since refined oil accounts for one-third of Belarusian exports, the steep decline in oil prices is the major factor explaining this shrinking GDP. It works directly,... MORE