Belarus
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April 06, 2016Kazakhstan Proposes Changing Venue Of EES Summit In Armenia
Kazakhstan’s prime minister will not attend a summit of the Eurasian Economic Union (EES) member states scheduled in Armenia's capital, Yerevan, on April 8.
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April 06, 2016
Amnesty Calls Increase In Executions Worldwide ‘Profoundly Disturbing’
Amnesty International says the number of confirmed executions across the world surged to its highest level in more than two decades in 2015, fueled by the rising use of capital punishment in Iran, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia.
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April 01, 2016
Podcast: A Less Perfect Union
The Russia-Belarus Union state turns 20-years-old this weekend. What does it teach us about Moscow's quest to restore its dominance over the former Soviet space today? Listen to the new Power Vertical Podcast.
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March 31, 2016
Belarusian Opposition Activist Suspected Of Taking Part In Military Conflict In Ukraine
Belarus authorities are seeking a prominent pro-democracy activist for allegedly taking part in hostilities in eastern Ukraine where pro-Russia separatists have been battling Ukrainian government forces.
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March 30, 2016
Lukashenka: Crisis In Ukraine's East Cannot Be Solved Without U.S.
Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka says the ongoing crisis in eastern Ukraine cannot be solved without U.S. involvement.
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March 29, 2016
World Bank Gives Belarus $10 Million To Improve Budget Practices
The World Bank has given Belarus a $10 million loan to improve its budget practices, including consolidating cash balances and improving transparency.
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March 22, 2016
Belarusian In Belgium Denies Russian Reports Suggesting Links To Attacks
Some Russian media reports claim that three former Belarusian residents are suspected of involvement in the March 22 terrorist attacks in Brussels. But one of the men ridiculed the assertion, telling RFE/RL that the reports were "nonsensical yellow journalism."
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March 22, 2016
Minsk Seeks 'Normalization Of Ties' With EU
Belarusian Foreign Minister Uladzimer Makey says his country wants "to normalize ties" with the European Union.
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March 21, 2016
Belarusian Businessman Once Close To President Charged With Tax Evasion
Belarusian businessman Yury Chyzh has been charged with large-scale tax evasion.
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March 16, 2016
Soviet-Era Belarusian Dissident Dies In Minsk
Soviet-era Belarusian dissident Syarhey Khanzhankou has passed away at the age of 74.
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March 14, 2016
Investigation Suspended Against Ex-Belarusian Presidential Candidate
Belarusian authorities have suspended an investigation against a former presidential candidate who fled Belarus in 2011 and returned last year.
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March 13, 2016
Belarus Detains Prominent Businessman Once Close To President
Belarusian authorities have detained prominent businessman Yury Chizh on suspicion of large-scale tax evasion.
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March 08, 2016
Protesters Demand Savchenko Release
Hundreds of protesters marched through the streets of Kyiv to demand that Russia release detained Ukrainian pilot Nadia Savchenko.
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March 04, 2016
Belarusian Court Sentences 11 For Drug Trafficking
A Belarusian court has sentenced eleven people, including one woman, to between nine and 19 years in prison for drug-related crimes.
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March 04, 2016
Lithuanian Sentenced To Prison As Spy For Belarus
A Lithuanian court has jailed a former military medical officer after finding him guilty of spying for neighboring Belarus.
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February 29, 2016
Minsk Market Traders Protest Against New Rules
More than 300 people gathered in central Minsk, to protest new rules for non-food market stalls. The February 28 rally was held to protest a new regulation that small private businesses should obtain certificates guaranteeing the quality of their products and also show proof of origin. (RFE/RL's Belarus Service)
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February 29, 2016
Two Belarusian KGB Officers Charged As Part Of Drug-Trafficking Gang
Two former officers from the Belarusian KGB have been put on trial in Minsk along with 15 other defendants on charges of being members of one of the country's largest distribution rings for illegal narcotics.
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February 28, 2016
Hundreds Rally In Belarus In Support Of Small Private Businesses
Some 500 people rallied in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, on February 28 to demand that the government scrap a new regulation, which protesters say imposes an unfair burden on small private businesses.
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February 25, 2016
Putin Praises Union State With Belarus At Minsk Meeting
Russian President Vladimir Putin says the Union State of Russia and Belarus is continuing to develop and is setting the tone for relations between all countries that once were part of the Soviet Union.
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February 25, 2016
Nazarbaev Says Eurasian Union Will Eventually Be Efficient
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev says that despite the ongoing economic crisis faced by member-states of the Eurasian Economic Union (EES), the alliance's overall economic potential and market volume will remain resilient.
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February 23, 2016
Snow Plows Disrupt Business Owners' Protest In Minsk
As owners of small businesses demonstrated against new government regulations in the Belarusian capital, a fleet of snow plows drove up close by, setting off scuffles with the protesters. (RFE/RL's Belarusian Service)
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February 23, 2016
Tajik Opposition Activist Released From Custody In Belarus
An activist from Tajikistan's opposition Group 24, Shabnam Hudoidodova, has been released from custody in Belarus after being held for more than eight months.
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February 16, 2016
Lukashenka 'Satisfied' With EU Decision To Lift Belarus Sanctions
Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has welcomed a decision by the European Union to abandon most sanctions against the country over its rights and democracy record.
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February 16, 2016
Russia Welcomes EU Decision To Lift Belarus Sanctions
Russia has welcomed a decision by EU foreign ministers to lift sanctions against Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka over the country's rights and democracy record.
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February 15, 2016
EU Lifts Most Sanctions On Belarus
EU foreign ministers have voted to abandon a handful of sanctions against Belarus over its rights and democracy record and adopted an EU Council text praising mutual cooperation, furthering a thaw that critics fear will let the authoritarian regime in Minsk off the hook too quickly.
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February 15, 2016
Minsk Vendors Protest New Trade Rules
Hundreds of Belarusian vendors have rallied in Minsk, protesting a presidential decree introducing new regulations for retailers.
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February 12, 2016
EU Set To Drop Most Sanctions On Belarus For Good
EU foreign ministers are poised to allow most of the bloc's sanctions against Belarus to expire when they meet next week in Brussels, diplomatic sources have told RFE/RL, but an arms embargo will apparently remain in place.
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February 09, 2016
UN Envoy: No Changes In Belarus's 'Dismal' Human Rights Situation
The United Nations special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus, Miklos Haraszti, has warned that "no changes" have been initiated in the country to alter the "oppressive laws and practices" since the October presidential election.
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February 03, 2016
Belarusian Activists Urge EU Pressure Ahead Of Decision On Sanctions
A leading Belarusian opposition activist says the European Union must continue to pressure the ex-Soviet country's authoritarian president over his record on human rights and civil liberties despite a thaw between Minsk and Brussels.
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February 03, 2016
Activist Urges EU To Keep Political Pressure On Belarus
Belarusian human rights activist Ales Byalyatski has called on the European Union to maintain political pressure on Belarus's authoritarian regime. In Brussels on February 3, the former political prisoner told EU officials that the situation inside the country has not improved since economic sanctions were suspended following the release of political prisoners last August. Speaking to Gregory Zhygalov of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, Byalyatski said Belrusian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka has given no indication he's open to serious democratic reforms.
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January 29, 2016
Russia, Ukraine, And Belarus Want To 'Be Like Bill'
The viral meme Be Like Bill has taken social media by storm in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, where it has been repurposed by government critics, politicians, and military officials.
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January 27, 2016
OSCE Condemns Attack On Journalist By Belarusian Police
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has condemned an attack against a journalist that was carried out earlier this week by police in Belarus.
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January 27, 2016
HRW: Security Fears Increasingly Trumping Human Rights Protections
International watchdog Human Rights Watch has warned the world's governments not to sacrifice rights protection in the name of fighting terrorism or coping with refugee problems.
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