Stories about Belarus
Top Belarusian media website removes social media posts to protect employees
Tut.by editors removed virtually all of the content published on most of their social media channels in 2020 and the first half of 2021, at the height of the post-election...
Belarus bans foreign travel for citizens, EU closes airspace to Belarusian flights
Most Belarusians, including many foreign residency permit holders, have been temporarily banned from going abroad, while new EU air space restrictions further narrow travel options to and from Belarus.
Belarus grounds Ryanair flight, detains independent journalist amid regime's crackdown on media
Pratasevich was formerly an administrator of NEXTA-Live, the Telegram channel covering the anti-government protests in Belarus. He is currently editor-in-chief of Belarus Golovnogo Mozga, another independent media outlet.
Ukraine, Belarus commemorate 35th anniversary of Chernobyl disaster
For the world, Chornobyl symbolises the fragility of our environment and the threat posed by human activity. But for many in Ukraine and Belarus, it remains a personal tragedy.
Israeli phone hacking firm stops sales to Belarus and Russia
Cellebrite, an Israeli software company known for making tools used to extract data from smartphones, has announced it will halt sales to Russian and Belarus state bodies and law enforcement.
Belarus banned from 2021 Eurovision contest for controversial song lyrics
The European Broadcasting Union found Belarus to be "in breach of the rules of the competition that ensure the Contest is not instrumentalized or brought into disrepute."
‘Pandemic Big Brother': Highlighting impact of COVID-19 restrictions on digital freedoms in Eastern Europe
Digital rights activists fear that digital surveillance has become so normalized during the pandemic that it may be hard to roll these measures back once it's over.
Bloggers, journalists and creatives in the crosshairs of the Belarusian state
As the space for free expression in Belarus narrows, many journalists and artists who covered the protests are awaiting trial.
In Belarus, Lukashenka's rule endures 2020 — can it survive 2021?
Belarus faces a stalemate: protesters cannot take power by force, the authorities cannot disperse them by force. But in the long term, Alyaksandr Lukashenka's rule looks precarious.
In Belarus, a new civic culture is born out of recycled historical symbols in urban yards
As Belarusans continue to fill the streets in protests against Alyaksandr Lukashenka, a hyper-local movement is forming a new civic culture.
How global tech companies enable the Belarusian regime — and the Belarusian revolution
Belarus has globalised enough for its rulers to be undermined if western technology becomes less accessible, but also globalised enough to reorient itself to larger markets in the East
WATCH: Belarus 2020: Still uploading?
In this edition of our Global Voices Insights series, media analyst Maryia Sadouvskaya-Komlach, artist Rufina Bezlova and scholar Gregory Asmolov revisit the events in Belarus following the August 2020 presidential...
Join us LIVE on December 14 for ‘Belarus 2020: Still Uploading’
Join us and three guest speakers to revisit the events that erupted in Belarus following the August presidential elections. This free event will be streamed live on Zoom and Facebook.
Belarusians mourn the death of young opposition supporter
The 31-year-old Roman Bondarenka was the fourth person killed since protests began over the results of August's presidential election. As they mourn, Belarusians fear that they could share his fate.
In the heat of political crisis, Belarus launches first nuclear power plant
Next month, the Astravets nuclear power plant commences operation with fanfare. But in a country which suffered greatly from the Chernobyl disaster, not everybody shares the government's optimism.
From Belarus to Thailand, Hong Kong’s spirit of resistance is nurturing grassroots protests elsewhere
While Hong Kong protests have influenced organisational and protest tactics in anti-authoritarian movements abroad, the current wave of grassroots uprisings, in turn, prompts Hongkongers to develop a transnational solidarity.
In Belarus, tech workers fear for their industry’s future
Longtime Belarusian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka boasts that he has created a "paradise" for Belarusian IT. So why are young tech workers protesting against him — or even moving their businesses...
Supergirl and Vieršnica: Symbols of revolution and gender equality in Belarus
From the early days, women have stood at the forefront of the protests in Belarus, whether on the streets or as leaders of the opposition movement.
Is Belarus in the midst of a generational upheaval?
Our survey reveals societal divisions behind protests against the Lukashenka presidency. Foremost is a generational rift between those who became adults during the Soviet period and those born after 1990.
How churches became entangled in Belarus’ political crisis
As the crisis drags on, the leader of Belarus' Catholics was denied entry into the country and his Orthodox counterpart was replaced. Both had publicly criticised the crackdown on protesters.
