Fast Facts Language: Belarusian Established: 1954 Distribution: Radio (AM, SW, satellite), Belsat TV, Internet Coverage: Eight hours daily, 30 minutes weekly on Belsat TV Locations: Prague, Minsk Staff: 12 in Prague, 40 in Minsk

Media Environment

• Freedom House Freedom of the Press Index, 2012: Not Free (193rd/197)
• Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index, 2012: 168th/179. Belarus was also named an “Enemy of the Internet” by RSF.
• Often referred to as the "last dictatorship in Europe," Belarus is one of the most authoritarian regimes in the world. Independent journalists are under constant threat of physical violence and arrest.
• Members of the opposition have no access to the mass media and are routinely imprisoned. Belarus is the only country in Europe that has never allowed local rebroadcasts of RFE/RL programs.

Highlights

• RFE/RL's Radio Svaboda is one of the leading news websites and one of the few news outlets accessible to Belarusians in their own language.
• Since the "Last Dictatorship in Europe" makes it impossible for the Belarus Service to have local radio delivery, Svaboda has focused its efforts on connecting with the large number of people on high-speed internet. Since January 2012, visits and page views have increased by more than 10%; the number of visitors has grown by 35% and the number of 'listens' to our radio broadcasts online has gone up by 30%. Svaboda is also gaining new audiences on social networks. The number of Svaboda’s ‘friends’ on Facebook has almost doubled since January 2012, while in the case of vKontakte, they have tripled. 
• One of Svaboda's key alternative delivery methods is having their web content republished by local media hungry for objective content as well as reports on issues covered by no one else in the market. In May 2012 alone, over 700 items were reprinted in the local media.
• Three days before his death in December 2011, former Czech President Vaclav Havel wrote a letter of support to eight Belarusian political prisoners. Although Havel was never able to send the letter, the Belarus Service aired his words on the day of his death and posted the letter on its website.
• Radio Svaboda reports of police brutality toward journalists led the Prosecutor-General to demand an inquiry and call for the punishment of police officers who interfere in the work of journalists.
• Radio Svaboda provided around-the-clock coverage of Belarus’ 2010 presidential elections and the violent crackdown of opposition protests that followed. For its coverage of these events, the Belarus Service received the David Burke Distinguished Journalism Award from the Broadcasting Board of Governors.
• Radio Svaboda’s historic “Voices of Solidarity” project featured Vaclav Havel, former U.S. President George W. Bush, U.S. Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA), and dozens of international leaders who read the names of hundreds of Belarusian activists jailed in the wake of the December 2010 election during broadcasts that aired over the New Year's weekend.

updated: 27 June 2012

Population
9.47 Million (World Bank Estimate, 2011)

Most Common Languages:
Belarusian, Russian, Ukranian, Polish, Yiddish

Press Freedom Index (Freedom House)
Not Free, ranked 193 out of 197 (2012)

Press Freedom Index (RSF):
168 out of 179 (2011)

Corruption Index (Transparency Int.):
143 out of 183 (2011)

Global Peace Index (IES):
109 out of 158 (2012)

Human Rights Watch:
Report on Belarus (2012)

Amnesty International:
Belarus Report (2012)