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Tag: belarus

From protest crackdowns to private lives: Belarus’s new immoral turn

Minsk’s means of repression have undergone a significant change since the protests of 2020. New laws have been adopted that attempt to marginalize particular groups and ideas as running counter to the norms promoted by the state. Control has subsequently become a constant issue felt in everyday life.

May 22, 2026 - Hanna Vasilevich

When human rights defenders are imprisoned, it is a litmus test for democracy

An interview with Ales Bialiatski, human rights defender, Nobel Peace Prize winner and former Belarusian political prisoner. Interviewer: Nasta Zakharevich

April 21, 2026 - Ales Bialiatski Nasta Zakharevich

When international institutions fail

Whether in Bucha, Gaza or Tehran, international law and multilateral and regional organizations have failed to prevent war and human rights violations. This chaos is both a moral failure and a security threat, especially for Europe, which must confront these challenges while being sidelined from global affairs.

April 21, 2026 - Anaïs Marin

Repressions in Belarus continue

An interview with Veranika Stankevich, coordinator of Volnyja, an organization that works with former Belarusian political prisoners. Interviewer Emily Macrae

April 21, 2026 - Emily Macrae Veranika Stankevich

Populism and motherhood

Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s regime in Belarus has declared 2026 the “Year of the Belarusian Woman”. Under this banner, it has launched a large-scale media campaign promoting families and celebrating mothers. Not new to Belarus, the instrumentalization of family policy reflects a broader global pattern in which populist regimes appeal to traditional values and mobilize anti-gender narratives.

April 21, 2026 - Tatsiana Astrouskaya

Dividing the forest

In spring 2022, the Białowieża Forest, on the Polish border with Belarus, became the site of one of the most controversial infrastructure projects in the region: the construction of a permanent steel barrier along the Polish–Belarusian border. While construction crews worked on the fence, local researchers conducted daily field visits to document its immediate ecological footprint.

April 20, 2026 - Nasta Zakharevich Nikola Budzińska

The myth of the Dalwitz saboteurs

The history of the Dalwitz Battalion reveals the gap between myth and reality in narratives of Belarusian wartime collaboration. Far from constituting a coherent anti-Soviet resistance, the unit was part of a late and largely unsuccessful German attempt to deploy local collaborators in sabotage operations. Its rapid collapse exposes the limits of both Nazi strategy and later attempts at myth-making.

April 20, 2026 - Ihar Melnikau

Prisoners for potash: Alyaksandr Lukashenka and the GDR precedent

Minsk’s recent decision to release high-profile prisoners has been underpinned by US moves to relax sanctions concerning the export of potash. While this may well appear like a genuine thaw in relations, it ultimately resembles a tried-and-tested tactic by dictatorships close to Russia to use prisoners as a bargaining chip.

February 27, 2026 - Zach Rogers

The return of Siarhei Tsikhanouski and what it means for the Belarusian democratic forces

The re-entry of Siarhei Tsikhanouski into the Belarusian political scene has revealed fault lines within the opposition movement. His symbolic role, carefully maintained by his wife Sviatlana and the broader opposition, has now collided with the structured, diplomatically-oriented political architecture built in his absence.

February 23, 2026 - Hanna Vasilevich

Punished for being abused: Belarusian controversy

Gradually but decisively, the European Union is folding Belarus into the same category as Russia. The toughest measures are coming from states that share a border with Belarus. How did a society once seen as a victim of Europe’s most brutal dictatorship come to be regarded as complicit in its crimes?

February 23, 2026 - Nasta Zakharevich

Double exclusion. How is it to be a queer migrant from Eastern Europe in Poland today?

LGBTQ+ rights in Belarus and Ukraine have remained static for years. The fear of coming out persists, both in one's home country and now within the diaspora abroad. Many queer migrants hide their sexuality, citing political or economic reasons for moving. Although Poland still has a long way to go, its relative openness, access to EU anti-discrimination frameworks and integration into European institutional life create better conditions for social progress and visibility.

February 22, 2026 - Sviataslaŭ Kruk

Does the meeting between Zelenskyy and Tsikhanouskaya mark the beginning of a new approach towards Belarus?

Connections between Kyiv and the democratic forces of Belarus have for a long time remained mired in uncertainty. However, this could well change following a high-profile meeting in Lithuania, with the shared goals of both sides potentially resulting in greater cooperation in the future.

February 6, 2026 - Pavlo Rad

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