EDITOR’S PICKS

Protest mood spreads from Belarus to Russia as calls grow for post-Soviet change

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
Protest mood spreads from Belarus to Russia as calls grow for post-Soviet change

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
Protest mood spreads from Belarus to Russia as calls grow for post-Soviet change

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

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BelarusAlert

Nov 23, 2021

Lukashenka, Putin, and the art of geopolitical extortion

By Brian Whitmore

The Putin-Lukashenka axis of autocrats is engaging in repeated acts of geopolitical extortion. Rewarding this with phone calls, summits, and concessions will only encourage more dangerous behavior.

Belarus Conflict

BelarusAlert

Nov 17, 2021

Belarus border crisis: Putin acts as Lukashenka’s willing enabler

By Brian Whitmore

Belarus dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s manufactured migrant crisis on the EU border is entirely in step with the hybrid war against the Western world being waged by his sole international patron, Vladimir Putin.

Belarus Conflict

BelarusAlert

Nov 15, 2021

Belarus dictator turns hybrid war into humanitarian crisis

By Alesia Rudnik

By weaponizing migrants in his hybrid war against the European Union, Belarus dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka has created an escalating humanitarian crisis on his country’s border with Poland.

Belarus European Union

BelarusAlert

Nov 14, 2021

Belarus border crisis marks dangerous escalation in Putin’s hybrid war

By Oleksiy Goncharenko

As tensions on the EU border with Belarus escalate, Europe is waking up to the fact that the man responsible for the crisis is not Belarusian dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka but his patron Vladimir Putin.

Belarus Conflict

BelarusAlert

Nov 10, 2021

Gangster tactics: Poland accuses Putin of masterminding Belarus border crisis

By Brian Whitmore

As the crisis on the EU’s eastern border with Belarus continues to escalate, Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of masterminding the plot to weaponize illegal migrants.

Belarus Conflict

BelarusAlert

Nov 9, 2021

Belarus border crisis: Lukashenka weaponizes human misery

By Daniel Fried, Michal Baranowski, Ben Judah

Kremlin-backed Belarus dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka has weaponized migrants from across the Middle East and is using them to create a border crisis in his escalating hybrid war against the EU.

Belarus Conflict

BelarusAlert

Nov 3, 2021

Is Lukashenka mimicking Putin’s weaponization of organized crime?

By Brian Whitmore

As he becomes more and more dependent on the Kremlin, is Belarus dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka now also adopting the Putin regime’s practice of using organized crime as an instrument of statecraft?

Belarus Cybersecurity

BelarusAlert

Oct 27, 2021

Has Lukashenka’s anti-NATO gambit paid off with Putin?

By Brian Whitmore

Belarus dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s decision to abandon years of geopolitical neutrality and join Vladimir Putin’s hybrid war against the West may have succeeded in convincing the Kremlin to keep him in position.

Belarus Conflict

BelarusAlert

Oct 24, 2021

Maria of Minsk

By Melinda Haring

Imprisoned activist Maria Kalesnikava did not seek a career in politics but since the outbreak of anti-regime protests in Belarus she has become a source of inspiration for the country’s pro-democracy movement.

Belarus Civil Society

BelarusAlert

Oct 20, 2021

Are Belarus and Russia using migrant crisis to smuggle agents into Europe?

By Brian Whitmore

Elements of a new Iron Curtain are appearing along Belarus’s border with the EU and officials are growing concerned that Putin and Lukashenka may be using the migrant crisis to smuggle agents into Europe.

Belarus European Union
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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?

Protest mood spreads from Belarus to Russia as calls grow for post-Soviet change

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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Protest mood spreads from Belarus to Russia as calls grow for post-Soviet change

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
Protest mood spreads from Belarus to Russia as calls grow for post-Soviet change

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.

The Eurasia Center’s mission is to enhance transatlantic cooperation in promoting stability, democratic values and prosperity in Eurasia, from Eastern Europe and Turkey in the West to the Caucasus, Russia and Central Asia in the East.

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BelarusAlert

Jan 27, 2021

Protest mood spreads from Belarus to Russia as calls grow for post-Soviet change

By Brian Whitmore

As Russians took to the streets across eleven time zones on January 23 to protest the jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, many of them also had protests in neighboring Belarus on their minds.

Belarus Civil Society

BelarusAlert

Jan 20, 2021

Can stalling tactics save the wily Belarusian dictator?

By Vladislav Davidzon

Belarusian dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka has sought to defuse protests against his regime by promising to step down following constitutional reform, but critics believe he is merely trying to buy time.

Belarus Democratic Transitions

BelarusAlert

Jan 20, 2021

Belarus presents the West with an opportunity to be on the right side of history

By Brian Whitmore

In shunning dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka and embracing Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and the opposition, the West is on the right side of history in Belarus. It must now make sure that it stays there.

Belarus Democratic Transitions

BelarusAlert

Jan 13, 2021

Calls mount to strip Belarus dictator of right to host 2021 hockey world championship

By Doug Klain

Calls are mounting for Belarus dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka to be stripped of the right to co-host the 2021 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship over the brutal suppression of pro-democracy protests.

Belarus Elections

BelarusAlert

Jan 13, 2021

Vladimir Putin has nothing but bad options in Belarus

By Brian Whitmore

Vladimir Putin knows his support for dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka is poisoning attitudes towards Russia in neighboring Belarus, but he cannot allow a democratic uprising to succeed so close to home.

Belarus Democratic Transitions

BelarusAlert

Jan 7, 2021

Is Russia preparing to replace Belarus dictator Lukashenka?

By Vladislav Davidzon

As Moscow works to create an advantageous outcome in Minsk, are there plans to replace Lukashenka with a pro-Kremlin movement of Belarusians?

Belarus Political Reform

BelarusAlert

Dec 21, 2020

Terror tactics fail to stop the rise of a democratic Belarus

By Hanna Liubakova

By seeking to subjugate his own population, dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka is unwittingly pushing the Belarusian people away from the Soviet past and towards a democratic European future.

Belarus Democratic Transitions

BelarusAlert

Dec 19, 2020

US poised to boost support for democracy in Belarus

By Vladislav Davidzon

Belarus looms large on the US foreign policy agenda for 2021. Senators can set the stage for the year ahead by passing the Belarus Democracy, Human Rights and Sovereignty Act of 2020.

Belarus Democratic Transitions

BelarusAlert

Dec 18, 2020

How secure is Belarus dictator Lukashenka’s throne of bayonets?

By Vladislav Davidzon

Belarus dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka's political survival depends on the continued loyalty of his extensive security apparatus—but just how secure is this throne of bayonets?

Belarus Democratic Transitions

BelarusAlert

Dec 10, 2020

Russia in retreat as the Soviet collapse continues

By Peter Dickinson

Russia suffered a series of setbacks in its own neighborhood during 2020 that underlined the counterproductive nature of Moscow's imperial approach to the post-Soviet world.

Belarus Central Asia
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