Belarus: Dzerzhinsky Monument Opens, Airspace Closes · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Iryna of TOL's Belarus Blog writes about tomorrow's opening of a monument to Felix Dzerzhinsky at the Military Academy in Minsk: “Throughout his 12 years in power, Lukashenka has paid homage to “the best” that the Soviet Union had to offer. He does it to feed the nostalgia for Soviet times which his core supporters—older, less educated, rural voters—feel. That is why the KGB is still called the KGB and the leading state newspaper is still ‘Soviet Belarus’.” Also, Aleksandr Lukashenko has announced his plans to close Belarusian airspace to U.S. and Canadian planes. TOL's Belarus Blog examines what this move might cost Belarus.