Three views on Belarus from Warsaw, Kyiv and Moscow Background Our local Heads of Office are turning their attention to Belarus: Joanna Maria Stolarek discovers the spirit of Polish Solidarność on the streets of Belarus. Sergej Sumlenny reports on unexpectedly cautious, neutral and ambivalent responses from Ukraine. And in Moscow, President Aljaksandr Lukashenka remains the partner of choice, Johannes Voswinkel writes. By Joanna Maria Stolarek and Johannes Voswinkel
More arrests and repression in Belarus Statement Further arrests and acts of repression in Belarus: Lawyer Maxim Snak arrested; Nobel Prize for Literature winner Svetlana Alexievich harassed – Pressure on Minsk and Moscow must be raised and activists in danger allowed into Germany. By Dr. Ellen Ueberschär
Belarus 2014 – a year in the shadow of Ukraine Belarus is given media coverage only at the time of presidential election and is generally not present in the international public discourse on other occasions. Hence, it is worth examining what has been happening in Belarus during the last six months, especially in the context of the 20th anniversary of Lukashenko's presidency. How has Belarus reacted to the events in Ukraine? How has the president used the conflict for his internal political games? Can we expect any liberalisation? By Maxim Rust
Feminism in Post-Soviet Belarus How does a society with a lengthy period of socialist experience in its recent past think of the oppression of women? Would it recognize the issue at all? How would it see the origin of this oppression? Finally, what needs to be done for the world to become a better place? The way these issues have been theorized in the former socialist region was quite different from how they were seen in the West.
Does the Belarusian opposition need a generational change? Various crisis and occasional scandals among the leaderships of political parties erupting inside the Belarusian opposition, force numerous analysts and observers to talk about a generational conflict within the opposition. Has such a conflict really appeared and is a generational change necessary in the Belarusian democratic movement?
Situation of Individuals with Non-heterosexual Orientation International organizations are beginning to pay attention to the problems of the Belarusian LGBT community. This year, reports about violations of the rights of gays and lesbians in Belarus have been published by the majority of international organizations. However, this does not translate into an actual government effort. For the time being, state authorities try to avoid addressing publicly the issue of LGBT rights, thereby hindering any public debate on this subject.
Political Participation at the Local Level The society of Belarus was under the influence of the Soviet regime for 70 years, the consequences of which can be seen to this date – in political and social culture, in how institutions and social structures are organized, and in the way governance is exercised and power is enforced. Without awareness of this heritage it is impossible to understand how local communities function or how citizens participate in the decision-making process.
Belarus – Russia: Dependency or Addiction? Belarus is able to meet only 13-15 percent of its energy needs from its own reserves and its basic basic fuel is natural gas imported from Russia, which constitutes from 75 to 80 percent of energy consumption. Of course, not only Belarus is dependent on Russian energy supplies, since the Baltic States and several Central European countries are in a similar situation. However, Belarus is most vulnerable, because Russia is virtually the sole supplier of its energy.
"Eurobelarusian" Undoubtedly, Belarus could already be an EU member. According to experts, its starting conditions in the early 1990s were no worse than those of Poland or the Czech Republic’s.
Civil society – long traditions, lack of strategy? The case of Belarus is unique, even when compared to the neighboring countries. Its specific character is proved by the low level of national identity caused by severely underdeveloped nation-shaping processes. The authoritarian state remains, until this day, the main architect of the Belarusian national project.