Belarus - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Latest Belarus News

EU Takes Stock Of Its Near Neighbors

The European Commission has issued a progress report on European Neighborhood Policy and its implementation, noting particular challenges and concerns among the bloc's most immediate neighbors. More

Putin Prepares To Host Summits

Russian President Vladimir Putin hosts two summits on May 15 as the CIS Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) marks an anniversary and CIS leaders gather for an informal meeting. More

The presidents of Belarus and Kazakhstan, Alyaksandr Lukashenka (left) and Nursultan Nazarbaev

Belarus, Kazakh Leaders Confirm 'Unity'

The presidents of Belarus and Kazakhstan say they have reached a "unity of viewpoints" regarding international issues and the economic union involving their nations and Russia. More

Lukashenka Sacks Interior Minister

Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has sacked his interior minister, who has overseen the crackdown by security forces on political dissent since Lukashenka's disputed reelection to a fourth term in December 2010. More

Merkel Slams Ukraine, Belarus

Germany's chancellor Angela Merkel has said the citizens of Ukraine and its authoritarian neighbor Belarus are "still living under dictatorship and repression." More

More Belarus News

Features & Commentary

Dostoyevsky Experts Strike Back At Belarusian Leader

Russian literary giant Fyodor Dostoyevsky has been dead and buried for well over 100 years. But he may have shifted, if not rolled over, in his grave this week when Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka made the unfortunate choice of quoting out of context. Dostoyevsky experts are less than amused -- and if Lukashenka understood his error, they say, he would want to hide his head in the sand, too.

Russia -- Opposition activists stand near the closed entrance to the Red Square, 01Apr2012

Moscow Activists Take A Walk On The Mild Side To Get Message Across

Authorities might have hoped that Moscow's tenacious protest movement would die down after hundreds of demonstrators were summarily arrested at a May 6 rally ahead of Vladimir Putin's presidential inauguration. But rather than giving up, protesters are adapting their tactics.

Leaders of the Jewish community of the town of Balti (right) are seen before their execution on July 15, 1941. German soldiers stand at left. (Photo: Matatias Carp, Cartea Neagra - Bucharest, 1947 - Volume III)

Archive Reveals New Details Of Holocaust In Moldova

In March, Moldova transferred an archive of Holocaust-era documents to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. The contents, now being explored by researchers, tell the stories of Jews slain by their own neighbors, and offer a look into the lives of victims and perpetrators alike.

The first Soviet nuclear test was carried out in Semipalatinsk in 1949.

Giving Up Nukes -- Is The Post-Soviet Experience A Model For Others?

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine gave up their Soviet-legacy nuclear weapons. But what did they get in return and how do they feel about that decision now?

Iranians watch the public execution of a convicted man in the city of Qazvin in May 2011.

Mideast Fuels Global Execution Rise

Amnesty International says the rise in executions in Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq last year was large enough to create an overall global increase compared to 2010, even as an increasing number of countries move away from the death penalty.

Does This Language Make Me Look Fat?

A new study by a Yale University economist suggests that the language you speak can have an impact on your long-term well-being by affecting how you think about saving money, smoking, exercise, and even obesity.

Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka is an avid hockey fan

Hockey Legend Takes On Lukashenka

One of ice hockey's biggest names says he knows how to hit the Belarusian regime -- by stripping the country of the right to host the world championship.

The trial of Dzmitry Kanavalau and Uladzislau Kavalyou in Minsk was held in the Palace of Justice -- "a place clearly suited for performances and concerts, not for a trial."

Interview: Belarus Subway-Bombing Trial 'Like Some Kind of Phantasmagoria'

RFE/RL's Aleh Hruzdzilovich attended every session of the trial of accused subway bombers Dzmitry Kanavalau and Uladzislau Kavalyou, who were executed last week despite pleas for clemency and complaints that the court process was flawed. He talks about the reasons why so many doubts remain about both the trial and the men's execution.

A combo photo of Uladzislau Kavalyou (left) and Dzmitry Kanavalau during a court hearing in Minsk in September 2011.

In Wake Of Belarus Executions, Doubts About Judicial Process

Days after Belarusian authorities execute the two men judged responsible for a deadly subway bombing, observers wonder if the government acted too hastily in carrying out the death sentences, and whether the men's supporters hurt their case by asking Europe to intervene.

In a country that has been referred to as "Europe's last dictatorship," RFE/RL's Radio Svaboda is one of the leading news websites and one of the few media outlets accessible to Belarusians in their own language.