| 06.07.2010 |
Eastern Partnership ‘Absolutely a Success’
There are concerns the European Union’s market crisis will dramatically scale back its ambitions for outreach programs with its neighbors -- including its Eastern Partnership. |
| 06.07.2010 |
Customs Union instead of WTO?
Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus may be on the brink of creating a supranational body modelled on European integration, but this could be a difficult task given the problems that their customs union has faced so far, writes George Bovt, a journalist and political observer, in a March publication for the EU-Russia Centre. |
| 06.07.2010 |
Milinkevich: Democracy Ensured on the Streets
In case of victory, Milinkevich promises $10 billion in investments for the Belarusian economy, reforms for courts, healthcare and utilities, European education for the youth and no nuclear power plant for environmentalists. The launch of his presidentil bid in our photo and video report. |
| 06.07.2010 |
BNR Rada On Nuclear Power in Belarus
The Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic (BNR) in exile, convened for its XXVII plenary session in London on the 18th April 2010, has adopted a resolution titled “Against the Construction of Nuclear Power Station in Belarus.” |
| 06.07.2010 |
600th Anniversary of the Grunwald Battle
A joint march to the Grunwald (Dubrouna) battleground is being planned to commemorate the 600th anniversary of the 1410 victory over the Teutonic Order. The victory by the combined forces of the Grand Duchy of Litva and Poland stopped the eastward push of the then mighty Teutonic Order. |
| 06.07.2010 |
Ivonka Survilla Reelected President of BNR Rada
The 27th session of the Rada (Council) of the Belarusian National Republic (BNR) took place in London on April 17, 2010. The session was held in the assembly hall of the Association of Belarusians of the United Kingdom |
| 06.07.2010 |
Belarus: Open for Business?
In early April, the reputable Business Week magazine focused on the Belarusian economy with a laudatory article that suggested the country had become a virtual Mecca for foreign investors. Belarus, it noted, has risen dramatically on the World Bank’s list based on the “ease of doing business” from its former 129 place to 58, well ahead not only of Russia (120) and Ukraine (142), but even Poland, its EU neighbor (72). |
| 05.07.2010 |
Belarusian LACINKA - Its Second Wind
At the present time — in the beginning of the 21st century — practically all Belarusian-language, press and official texts are being printed in the Cyrillic alphabet. Yet Belarusian is one of the few Slavic languages with a tradition of TWO alphabets: Cyrillic and Roman (LACINKA). The latter has been used alongside with Cyrillic in Belarusian press in the beginning of the 20th century, until 1939 in Western Belarus. In the BSSR, the Cyrillic alphabet was used exclusively, as in line with the overall Soviet policy. |
| 05.07.2010 |
Democracy Needs to Feel US Support
At the end of May, one of the Belarusian opposition leaders – Alyaksandr Milinkevich – visited the United States. The visit was organized with the support of the European Union. Why the EU? European officials seek to consolidate their approach towards Belarus with an American approach and Mr. Milinkevich, in their view, was expected to facilitate the process. He held a number of meetings with US congressmen, officials at the State Department, National Security Council, and others. Mr. Milinkevich, a 2006 presidential contender, had constructive dialogues in high offices and summarized his impressions as follows: “There is a total understanding of our situation and our problems in Washington, DC.” So, there is an understanding, but does the understanding transform to enough US support? |
| 05.07.2010 |
PACE Suspends its High-Level Contacts with the
Belarusian Government and Parliament
Strasbourg, 29.04.2010 – The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) today decided to suspend its activities involving high-level contact with the Belarusian Parliament and/or the governmental authorities, having noted a “lack of progress” towards Council of Europe standards and a “lack of political will” on the part of the authorities to adhere to the Organisation’s values. |
| 02.07.2010 |
National Park ”Bielaviežskaja Pušča” and the Council Of Europe Diploma
The Council of Europe (CoE) diploma is a prestigious award, used to distinguish successful management of national parks and reserves in the realm of environmental protection. It is issued for 5-year terms , after expiration of which the awardees must confirm their validity. The National Park ”Bielaviežskaja Pušča” was awarded the Diploma in 1997; however, ten years later the Diploma has been temporarily suspended for the Belarusian as well as for the Polish parts of the national park. |
| 02.07.2010 |
Belarus Gears Up For Presidential Elections
Lukashenka looks increasingly vulnerable, yet the opposition’s failure to unite behind a single candidate still seems set to hand him another term in office.
The Belarusian Constitution demands that the country must hold the next presidential election by February 2011. The incumbent president, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, has been in office for 16 years, and most residents, according to a recent opinion poll by Novak, would like to see “a new face.” But can the opposition provide that candidate, and what are the main issues that preoccupy the electorate in the summer of 2010? |
| 14.04.2010 |
Polish Papers on Belarusian Poles
The Belarusian dictator has no accusations to bring against Poland and Belarusian Poles. He is engaged in war against the entire Belarusian nation. |
| 14.04.2010 |
125 Cities Across the Globe For a Free Belarus
On the night of 18th March 2010 the Young European Federalists (JEF) and numerous global partners protested against Europe's last standing dictatorship on the fourth anniversary of the disputed presidential elections in Belarus. The fifth consecutive "Free Belarus Action" took place in 125 cities on four continents, including cities in almost all European countries, even Belarus! |
| 14.04.2010 |
No Pro-Russian Party In Belarus, Russian Analyst Says
Not a single political party in Belarus regardless of whether it supports President Alexander Lukashenko can be described as pro-Russian, an indication of what the political elite in that country feels and what it assumes will attract the support of the Belarusian people, according to a Moscow analyst Alexander Avrukevich. |
| 14.04.2010 |
From Minsk With Love
They were easy to spot, because they were all sporting scarlet red Belarus hockey jerseys. |
| 13.04.2010 |
In The Land Of Yanukovych
The residents of one Belarusian village were particularly interested in the results of the Ukrainian election. |
| 13.04.2010 |
Belarusian Opposition Protests in Prague
Prague, Feb. 14 - About 20 young people with historical Belarusian flags and banners featuring opposition representatives Tatiana Shaputska and Auhien Afnahel staged a rally protesting the persecution of democratic youth organizations in Belarus yesterday. |
| 13.04.2010 |
Russian Tourists Ignorant About Belarus
Vienna, January 29 – Minsk tour guides say that nearly 20 years after Belarus acquired its independence, Russian visitors to their country still cannot deal with the reality that Belarus is an independent country and that Belarusians are a separate nation with a separate language, culture, and tradition. |
| 13.04.2010 |
Kosciuszko Honored At His Birthplace
The estate, where Tadeusz Kosciuszko was born, is situated in the village of Merachoushchyna (the Ivatsevichy district, the Brest region). Opposition leaders, foreign diplomats, cultural figures, historians, public representatives, journalists, local inhabitants and Belarusians from all over Belarus came to pay tribute to the memory of the great son of Belarus. |
| 13.04.2010 |
Conscription Used as a Deterrent By Belarusian Government
On December 29, Franak Vyachorka, the son of the former leader of the Belarusian Popular Front Vintsuk Vyachorka, was transferred from his military unit in Mazyr to a hospital after having discovered scabies. He also suffers from high blood pressure. However, although the hospital doctor informed him that he would remain there for several days in order to recover, he was discharged on January 5 and returned to his unit (www.charter97.org, January 6) |
| 13.04.2010 |
At Yanukovych’s Inauguration: Lukashenka Agreed To be Sidelined
Ukrainian diplomacy with direct participation of the Belarusian side managed to avoid countless unpleasant moments which could have occurred during the ceremony of inauguration of Ukraine's President-elect Viktor Yanukovych because of simultaneous participation of Alyaksandr Lukashenka and European presidents in the event, AFN reports. |
| 13.04.2010 |
Will Belarus Build Its Nuclear Plant?
Over the past three years, there have been numerous discussions about the future Belarusian nuclear power station. Various sites have been studied and canvassed and in December 2008, President Alyaksandr Lukashenka announced that the station would be located in the Astravets district of Hrodna region, some ten miles from the Lithuanian border (EDM, April 20, 2009). However, there are increasing signs, not only that the station will be well behind the planned schedule of completion for the first two reactors (in 2016 and 2018 respectively), but also that it may not be built at all. The confusing reports stem from contradictory signals by the main partners, Belarus and Russia, and particularly from comments made by the Belarusian president. |
| 13.04.2010 |
Russias Partnership with Belarus Hits Turbulence
Russian relations with its closest ally, Belarus, have reached a new low following a renewed dispute over energy prices and supply terms. The escalating disagreements over Russian oil supplies to Belarus now threaten to reduce shipments to Belarus refineries. Until recently, Russian crude exports to Belarus were delivered duty-free and then Minsk re-exported oil and refined products to Europe at a healthy profit. Now Moscow has concluded that Belarus is gaining far more than it deserves. On January 15, the Russian Federal Customs Service ordered levying full tariffs on crude oil and oil products supplies to Belarus from January 1, 2010. As Russia moved to levy full export tariffs, the price of crude oil increased from $550 to $560 per ton in January, or up from $380 per ton in December 2009. This year, the price of Russian oil products imported by Belarus is also expected to increase by almost 50 percent (Interfax, ITAR-TASS, RIA Novosti, January 15). |
| 13.04.2010 |
Mort Wins 2009 Lannan Literary Award
Valzhyna Mort was born in Minsk, Belarus in 1981. Her first collection, I’m as Thin as Your Eyelashes, was published prior to her moving to the U.S. in 2005. Her first US poetry collection is Factory of Tears (Copper Canyon Press, 2008), co-translated by the husband-and-wife team of Elizabeth Oehlkers Wright and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Franz Wright. The book has been translated into Swedish and Russian. It is the first Belarusian-English poetry book ever published in the U.S. |
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