At a press conference on February 28, former Belarusian presidential candidate Ales Mikhalevich outlined details of tortures at the KGB Detention Center in Minsk. Mikhalevich had been released a few days earlier on condition that he turned informant for the secret police. Instead he used... MORE

The end of voting in the presidential election on December 19 was followed by a large demonstration in October Square, which eventually moved to Independence Square. There followed a violent attack by riot police that left numerous people hospitalized, seven of the nine presidential candidates... MORE

Belarus seeks to reduce its near total dependence on Russian oil by diversifying the range of supplier countries and import routes. Belarus’ massive oil-processing industry is largely export-oriented and a top currency earner for the national economy. It processes some 22 million tons of crude... MORE

Receiving a small group of US analysts in Minsk (EDM, December 15), President, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, appealed to the United States to develop a multi-track policy toward Belarus, instead of a single-dimensional policy [implying democracy-promotion divorced from everything else]. The free-wheeling discussion of almost three hours,... MORE

On December 19, ten candidates will contest the Belarusian presidency. The election has been notably open, with several opposition candidates reaching out for support from Moscow, and the European Union offering encouragement to the incumbent president conditional on some basic requirements for a democratic process.... MORE

On December 14 in Minsk, Belarusian President, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, received a small group of US analysts for a discussion on US-Belarus relations. The group, drawn from several Washington think-tanks, visited Belarus at its own initiative, from a variety of policy and professional interests. Lukashenka’s unprecedented... MORE

There are several indications that the relatively passive Belarusian population favors fundamental changes in political and economic life. Some activists, such as presidential candidate, Andrei Sannikau, perceive a groundswell of popular sentiment that could sweep away the Lukashenka leadership in the presidential elections to be... MORE

Using the Odessa-Brody oil pipeline as originally intended, south-north, is under active consideration again; this time, by the governments of Ukraine and Belarus. The pipeline is being used since 2004 in reverse, north-south, by Russian oil companies, for exports out of Odessa. Such reverse-use blocks... MORE

Belarusian President, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, has been trying desperately to offset the impact of a scathing attack on him by Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, on October 4. Since that time Lukashenka has made conciliatory statements regarding relations with Russia, while at the same time bolstering trade... MORE

The Belarusian Parliament has scheduled the next presidential elections on December 19. By the deadline to register on September 24, the names of seventeen candidates had been accepted by the Central Election Commission, after two were rejected from the original nineteen. Each candidate required the... MORE