· April, 2006

Stories about Belarus from April, 2006

Belarus: Support for Jailed Opposition Leaders

  29 April 2006

Minsk, March 2006 – by anonymous: “One young woman was arrested while standing outside an internet cafe near October Square on Monday, as the tent camp was formed. She was released after three days, and returned on Friday to the prison walls to hand out letters from other detainees she...

Chernobyl: First Victims

  28 April 2006

Oleksa of My Reflections writes about Chernobyl and its first victims: “However, it is the plight of the 14 firefighters that made the greatest impression on me. They arrived on the station mere minutes after the blast and had to extinguish fire with their bare hands, almost literally, throwing the...

Belarus: BBC Responds to Blogger

  28 April 2006

BBC responds to David McDuff of A Step At A Time regarding the possibility of broadcasts in the Belarusian language in Belarus – in addition to broadcasts in Russian, Ukrainian and English: “The problem surrounding delivery of the product into the region remains the key stumbling block. The World Service...

Belarus: Rumors On Belarus-Russia Relations

  28 April 2006

TOL's Belarus Blog considers rumors of “the future in Belarus-Russia relations,” one of which is that Kremlin would like to get rid of Aleksandr Lukashenko in order to incorporate Belarus into the Russian Federation.

Belarus, Ukraine: Chernobyl Meaning

  28 April 2006

Vilhelm Konnander explains the meaning of Chernobyl for Belarus 20 years later. Tim Newman of White Sun of the Desert disagrees with Sean Guillory's take on the lessons of Chernobyl: “To use Chernobyl as a reason to abandon nuclear power is like using the Titanic as a reason to discontinue...

Belarus: Milinkevich Arrested and Sentenced

  27 April 2006

Belarus bloggers react to the news of Aleksandr Milinkevich's arrest: Andrei Khrapavitski points out that “today practically all the key names of the Belarusian oppositions have appeared on prison rolls;” TOL's Belarus Blog sees this as “the biggest test for Belarusian people after the falsified presidential election;” and br23 blog...

Belarus: Charnobylski Shlyakh Arrests

  27 April 2006

Iryna of TOL's Belarus Blog writes about more arrests and detentions in Belarus, following yesterday's protest rally “Charnobylski Shlyakh.” She also quotes Syarhei Kaliakin, an opposition activist: “20 years ago Chernobyl disaster has taken place. 10 years ago a political Chernobyl has happened, when the legally elected parliament was disbanded...

Ukraine: A Trip to Chernobyl

  26 April 2006

Dan McMinn of Orange Ukraine links to his own report from a trip to Chernobyl he and his wife took on November 13, 2004.

Belarus: Chernobyl and Charnobylski Shlyah

  26 April 2006

br23 blog writes about how he, then a 10-year-old son of two physicist parents, learned about the accident at the Chernobyl power plant 20 years ago. Ivan Lenin writes about today's protest rally in Minsk, and TOL's Belarus Blog links to Radio Liberty's photos from the rally.

Chernobyl: Letters Never Written

  26 April 2006

LJ user wall4 – originally from Lviv, Ukraine, now living in Connecticut – writes about his experience as a soldier forced to serve in Chernobyl 20 years ago (RUS). The piece is accompanied by several black-and-white army pictures. 20 Years Ago. Letters I haven't written. “Mama, I'll never forget how...

Chernobyl: Facts and Myths

  26 April 2006

Vilhelm Konnander writes about the facts and myths of Chernobyl: “The first news of the accident actually reached a western audience. High radioactive levels were registered at Swedish and Finnish nuclear plants already on 26 april. It quickly became apparent that the radioactivity emanated from somewhere within the Soviet Union....

Belarus: Chernobyl Neglect

  26 April 2006

TOL's Belarus Blog notes that when it comes to Chernobyl awareness and aid distribution, Belarus is neglected: “70% of all the radioactive fallout landed in Belarus. And yet, in mass-media world-wide everyone talks only about Ukraine. Belarus is lucky if it’s getting 5-10% of the coverage and 5-10% of the...

Latvia: Dangerous for Russians

  25 April 2006

All About Latvia writes that, according to one survey, “53 percent of [Russian] respondents named Georgia as the most dangerous country to Russians, while Latvia came second with 29 percent.” Belarus and Kazakhstan are considered the safest.

Belarus: Alternative Student Resource

  25 April 2006

Iryna of TOL's Belarus Blog writes about a Belarusian-language alternative online student resource – www.studenty.by: “More than 10,000 people visited the web-site when the first cartoon about Vasilek, a freshmen university student who came to Miensk from a small village, was posted a couple of months ago (you can see...

Belarus: “Public Repentance”

  21 April 2006

Iryna of TOL's Belarus Blog writes about “public repentance” taking place in Belarus now: “Students, who spent 10 to 15 days in prison after being arrested on the Square or during the March 25th demonstrations, are being forced to declare publicly that their legal participation in peaceful protests against election...

Belarus: Meaning of EU Sanctions

  21 April 2006

TOL's Belarus Blog considers the EU's introduction of entry bans for 30 Belarusian officials slightly more than a symbolic move: it “won’t bring about a revolution, but in situations like that it will help to provide publicity to Belarusian situation, serve as a reminder to the public — those guys...

Belarus: Conference on Mass Media

  21 April 2006

Edward Lucas, the central and east European correspondent of The Economist, has been invited to an unlikely conference on “integration of Belarus into the world media landscape” in Minsk, sponsored by the Belarusian government, but he doubts he'll be granted a Belarusian visa.

Belarus: Europe's Involvement

  20 April 2006

TOL's Belarus Blog writes about the extent of Europe's interest in Belarusian affairs and about countries that offer scholarships to (so far) 20 Belarusian students expelled for political reasons.