EDITOR’S PICKS

Putin’s Belarus strategy: Arsonist and firefighter?

BelarusAlert May 10, 2022

Belarus has good reason for concern over Putin’s nuclear intimidation

By Steven Pifer

Belarusian dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka has warned that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could go nuclear. If Vladmir Putin deploys nuclear weapons there is reason to believe that Belarus itself would soon be in the firing line.
Belarus Conflict
Putin’s Belarus strategy: Arsonist and firefighter?

BelarusAlert May 31, 2022

From White Russia to Belarus: Norway snubs Kremlin with name change

By Peter Dickinson

Norway has announced that it will now use the name “Belarus” instead of “Hviterussland” (literally “White Russia”) in a move reflecting growing awareness that Belarus should not be viewed through a Russian lens.
Belarus Democratic Transitions
Putin’s Belarus strategy: Arsonist and firefighter?

BelarusAlert May 17, 2022

Putin’s only friend: Belarus is Russia’s last remaining post-Soviet ally

By Brian Whitmore

The recent CSTO summit in Moscow highlighted Russia’s lack of support even within the former Soviet region while underlining Belarus dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s status as Vladimir Putin’s last remaining ally.
Belarus Central Asia

LATEST ANALYSIS

BelarusAlert

Jul 28, 2021

Concerns mount over Russia-Belarus military exercises

By Brian Whitmore

With the quadrennial Zapad military exercises just six weeks away, Russian troops and military equipment have begun arriving in Belarus, and many in the West are concerned that Putin may seek to exploit the buildup.

Belarus Russia

UkraineAlert

Jul 21, 2021

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya on Belarus’ future and her place in it

By Doug Klain

“I’m not going to participate in new elections,” Tsikhanouskaya said at the Atlantic Council. Instead, she wants to see a new free and fair election and a self-sustaining democratic movement in Belarus.

Belarus Democratic Transitions

BelarusAlert

Jul 21, 2021

Money wars in Belarus

By Brian Whitmore

Belarus dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka is increasing financial pressure of his domestic opponents. Meanwhile, Western sanctions against his regime continue to mount, leaving Belarus more and more dependent on Russia.

Belarus Democratic Transitions

BelarusAlert

Jul 14, 2021

Putin and Lukashenka are locked in a dysfunctional axis of autocrats

By Brian Whitmore

Vladimir Putin and Alyaksandr Lukashenka are bound together in an axis of autocrats but the two dictators are also locked in a game of cat and mouse over Kremlin efforts to expand Russian influence in Belarus.

Belarus Economic Sanctions

BelarusAlert

Jul 7, 2021

Lukashenka vs. Europe

By Brian Whitmore

The autocratic regime of Belarus dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka is intensifying its ongoing cold war against Europe via a series of threats to block trade routes along with ongoing moves to flood the EU with illegal migrants.

Belarus European Union

BelarusAlert

Jun 30, 2021

Belarus dictator weaponizes illegal migrants against EU

By Brian Whitmore

Kremlin-backed Belarus dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka has recently begun weaponizing migrants in his escalating confrontation with the European Union and neighboring countries Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania.

Belarus Migration

BelarusAlert

Jun 23, 2021

Why Putin dare not abandon Belarus dictator Lukashenka

By Jan Pieklo

Europe’s last two dictators know that if one should fall, the other will find himself in a perilous position. They may not necessarily like it, but Putin and Lukashenka are now locked in an authoritarian alliance.

Belarus Democratic Transitions

BelarusAlert

Jun 22, 2021

Belarus sanctions target dictator’s Russian enablers

By Brian Whitmore

When the US, EU, Canada, and UK announced a new Belarus sanctions this week, one name in particular stood out: Russian businessman Mikhail Gutseriyev.

Belarus Economic Sanctions

BelarusAlert

Jun 16, 2021

Tensions mount between Belarus dictator and Kremlin

By Brian Whitmore

Belarus dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s harsh crackdown on anti-regime protests has made him increasingly dependent on the Kremlin, but could Moscow be preparing to use him as a geopolitical pawn?

Belarus Moldova

BelarusAlert

Jun 9, 2021

Axis of autocrats: Belarus dictator Lukashenka backs Putin’s Ukraine war

By Brian Whitmore

The axis of autocrats in Eastern Europe continues to solidify as Belarus dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka bends over backwards to please Moscow by showing his support for Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Belarus Conflict
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spotlight

Belarus

Belarus’ August 2020 presidential election saw widespread protests and serious fraud allegations as President Lukashenka claimed victory against popular opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. Will Belarus begin its transition to democracy, or will Belarusians face further repression as Lukashenka’s rule falters?

Putin’s Belarus strategy: Arsonist and firefighter?

UkraineAlert Aug 13, 2024

Belarus’s political prisoners must not be forgotten

New sanctions unveiled in August have highlighted the plight of Belarus’s approximately 1,400 political prisoners, but much more must be done to increase pressure on the Lukashenka regime, writes Hanna Liubakova.

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Putin’s Belarus strategy: Arsonist and firefighter?

UkraineAlert Jul 25, 2024

The West should articulate the possibility of a European future for Belarus now

By Richard Cashman

Failure to articulate the possibility of a European future for Belarus leaves the Euro-Atlantic community at risk of being caught off guard without a plan when Belarus reaches its fork in the road, writes Richard Cashman.
Belarus Conflict
Putin’s Belarus strategy: Arsonist and firefighter?

UkraineAlert Jul 16, 2024

I was sentenced to ten years in absentia for highlighting Belarus’s descent into dictatorship

By Alesia Rudnik

My recent ten-year sentence in absentia is a sure sign that Belarusian dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka is increasingly insecure and dependent on the Kremlin, writes Alesia Rudnik.
Belarus Civil Society

The views expressed in BelarusAlert are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Atlantic Council, its staff, or its supporters.

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Russia Belarus

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BelarusAlert

Jun 2, 2021

Putin’s Belarus strategy: Arsonist and firefighter?

By Brian Whitmore

Vladimir Putin has a proven skill for surreptitiously playing the arsonist and then offering his services as a firefighter. He may now be employing these same tactics in his approach towards the crisis in neighboring Belarus.

Belarus Politics & Diplomacy

BelarusAlert

May 27, 2021

Putin sides with Belarus dictator over air piracy as Ukraine rejects Minsk talks

By Peter Dickinson

Former Ukrainian president Leonid Kravchuk has confirmed that Ukraine will seek to move peace talks with Russia away from Minsk as the international fallout from Belarus dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s recent act of air piracy continued to make waves throughout the region.

Belarus International Norms

BelarusAlert

May 26, 2021

Did Russia assist in Belarus dictator’s act of air piracy?

By Brian Whitmore

Did Belarus dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka get a stealthy assist from Vladimir Putin's Russia in hijacking a commercial airliner travelling between two European Union countries?

Belarus International Norms

BelarusAlert

May 25, 2021

Ukraine bans Belarus flights over Lukashenka’s air piracy

By Peter Dickinson

Ukraine will ban air traffic with Belarus starting May 26 as the fallout continues from Sunday’s dramatic forced landing of an EU airliner and passenger abduction in Minsk.

Belarus Politics & Diplomacy

BelarusAlert

May 24, 2021

State-sponsored air piracy: Belarus dictator tests the international community

By Peter Dickinson

European leaders agreed to new sanctions against Belarus on May 24, the day after dictator Lukashenka sparked uproar by forcing an EU passenger jet to land in Minsk and abducting a high-profile dissident passenger.

Belarus European Union

New Atlanticist

May 24, 2021

Belarus air piracy: How the world should respond

By Daniel Fried

Outrage at aggression should lead to action. The West has options for a civil-aviation response as well as new targeted sanctions.

Belarus Economic Sanctions

BelarusAlert

May 19, 2021

Dialog of dictators: How Putin and Lukashenka really talk to each other

By Brian Whitmore

Meetings between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka have become more frequent since the outbreak of anti-regime protests in Belarus last year, but details remain vague.

Belarus Politics & Diplomacy

BelarusAlert

May 12, 2021

Time to sanction the Putin-Lukashenka “axis of autocrats”

By Brian Whitmore

Callings are growing for the international community to impose sanctions against the Putin-Lukashenka axis rather than just on the Belarusian regime.

Belarus Economic Sanctions

BelarusAlert

May 5, 2021

Belarus sanctions: Time to target Russia?

By Brian Whitmore

Can sanctions against Belarus be separated from sanctions against Russia? Or should sanctions against the two countries be treated as part of a coherent whole, effectively sanctioning the Putin-Lukashenka axis?

Belarus Economic Sanctions

BelarusAlert

Apr 28, 2021

Lukashenka’s succession gambit: Kremlin capitulation or power play?

By Brian Whitmore

Alyaksandr Lukashenka either just made a bold and brazen power play vis-a-vis Russia or he began laying the groundwork for Moscow's ultimate takeover of Belarus. Whatever the truth is, the stakes are enormous.

Belarus Crisis Management
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