Some Belarusian police and security officers have walked off the job, amid mounting outrage over violence against peaceful protesters. A growing number of state media reporters and TV anchors are doing the same.
President Vladimir Putin plays up Russia’s registration of a coronavirus vaccine, while the 20th anniversary of the sinking of the submarine Kursk goes largely unnoticed by the Kremlin.
Already embattled by the largest protests ever to his long rule, Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka is also facing his most difficult tests abroad.
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Five American companies owned by Ukrainian tycoons who are accused of laundering money through U.S. assets were approved for as much as $13.3 million in loans through a federal program aimed at saving jobs during the coronavirus pandemic, according to U.S. government records.
Minsk’s IT sector has flourished in recent years, offering a 21st-century contrast to the creaky central command economy in Belarus. The sector is now threatened by the sweeping and violent crackdown that President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has unleashed after a disputed election.
As the dust settled on the fourth straight evening of mass protests in Belarus over a disputed election, harrowing reports of ill-treatment and the torture of detainees are emerging. And relatives seeking information about their missing loved ones are being met with shrugs and smiles from police.
A diplomatic spat between close allies Pakistan and Saudi Arabia has exposed serious fissures in their relationship.
On August 11, Putin announced that Russia had become the first country to approve a COVID-19 vaccine.
The Internet has largely been shut down in Belarus ever since the country’s disputed presidential election on August 9. However, the social-media platform Telegram has largely continued operation and has become the go-to resource for protesters seeking information and coordination.
In August 2000, the nuclear submarine Kursk sank during naval exercises on the Barents Sea, killing all 118 sailors in an incident that would prove a turning point for Russian society and for the political system that President Vladimir Putin has shaped in the two decades since.
Around the former Soviet Union, entrenched leaders and people chafing under their rule are watching the turmoil engulfing Belarus -- potentially learning lessons about what could happen in their own countries.
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