2022 heralded a new era for Russia’s banks. Increasingly isolated from the global economy and laden with heavy Western sanctions, the sector saw profits fall by 90 percent compared to 2021. For Russia’s technocrats, the future seemed dim. Then came 2023. Russia’s Central Bank announced last week
Estimates vary, but Georgian media approximates that between 50-60 Georgian soldiers have been killed fighting for Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in 2022, making it likely the highest death toll of any foreign nationality fighting on the Ukrainian side.
Putin and Lukashenko meet in Saint Petersburg for the Supreme State Council of the Russia-Belarus Union State, aiming to further integrate Russia and Belarus. Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya calls for Council of Europe accession plan for future democratic Belarus a s PACE votes on new resolution about Belarus. Twenty
Belarus amends its military doctrine, permitting the use of nuclear weapons, while Europe grows increasingly apprehensive over potential for wider war in Europe. Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania sign an agreement to establish a Baltic defense zone on their eastern border with Russia and Belarus, reflecting growing security concerns. Belarusian law
Russia’s missile campaign against Ukraine’s cities and infrastructure is no longer limited by the rate of domestic production as North Korea becomes its top weapons supplier. Pyongyang has allegedly sent Moscow more than 1 million artillery rounds and the mass strikes on Dec. 30 and Jan. 2 provided
When bilateral talks fail to resolve disputes between sovereign countries, aggrieved parties may turn to an international judicial body, such as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague. Alternatively, treaties or agreements often incorporate provisions for arbitration or mediation of disputes by a pre-designated entity. Similarly, the World
It has been a month since Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government took office, and the task now is to rebuild Polish democracy after eight years of corrupt misrule under Jaroslaw Kaczynski’s Law and Justice (PiS) party. No country in Europe has ever faced a political transition quite
For Argentina's newly-elected president, Javier Milei, ideology is the beating heart of politics. The economist, TV show personality, and self-professed anarcho-capitalist built his campaign on passionate support for a hands-off government and free market principles. His forthright approach also encompasses foreign policy. In the last weeks of 2023, Milei decided
Political prisoner dies in custody without receiving medical assistance – the fourth death of an opponent of the regime behind bars since 2020 in Belarus. Mother of jailed Belarusian politician hospitalized after detention amidst ongoing crackdown on dissent in Belarus. Finland becomes the 24th country to establish a parliamentary group to
Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko enacts restrictive religious law, mandating re-registration of every religious organization in the country and broadening grounds for their banning. Belarus refuses to let OSCE observe parliamentary elections, citing alleged "dominance of Western representatives in OSCE missions" and sanctions policies. Belarus and Sweden recall their emissaries in
Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko hosts more abducted Ukrainian children from Russia-occupied territories amid escalating international concern. Ukraine's Commissioner for Human Rights says Russia is seeking to conceal illegal deportations by making transfers through Belarus. YouTube experienced partial blocking around midnight on Dec. 31 as Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya made
Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko claims the transfer of Russian tactical nuclear warheads to Belarus was completed in October 2023. The Belarusian parliament has approved a bill to give immunity to the ex-president, ensuring he cannot be prosecuted for actions taken during his tenure, thereby attempting to grant Lukashenko the possibility
In March 2022, Kyrgyzstan's economy began to change. Imports from long-term trade partners started to steadily rise, with imports from China almost tripling. The shift was even more noticeable for countries that previously had few business ties to Bishkek. A sudden rush of goods appeared from across the European Union,
Germany signs ‘historic’ agreement to permanently deploy 4,800 German troops in Lithuania following Russian aggression against Ukraine. It will be the first German military base abroad since the end of the Second World War. A Bloomberg report, based on leaked documents, reveals there was a safety incident at a
UK sanctions 17 Belarusians for participating in politically motivated trials of former presidential candidates and human rights advocates during Belarus' post-2020 election crackdown. IOC clears Belarusian and Russian athletes to participate as neutrals in individual events at 2024 Paris Olympics, despite multiple international calls to uphold full ban imposed after
WARSAW – This week, Donald Tusk won a vote of confidence in Poland’s parliament to lead a new government as the country’s new prime minister, following a failed bid by the incumbent, Mateusz Morawiecki to remain in that role. The vote provoked a visibly nervous reaction from the leader
The new Polish government, led by Donald Tusk, officially took office on Dec. 13, marking the end of the eight-year rule of the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party. Tusk, who previously served two consecutive terms until 2014, returned with a commitment to mend Warsaw's ties with the EU and
The 26 European Union member states are determined to overcome Hungary's objections and move forward with several key priorities for Ukraine in one of the most "complex, complicated, and difficult European Councils."
Lukashenko visits China for a second time this year amid growing isolation and meets China's leader, Xi Jinping. The U.S. slaps sanctions on Lukashenko's "wallets" – enterprises generating revenue for the regime and supporting Russia's war efforts. Tsikhanouskaya calls on U.S. Congress to support Belarusian opposition and pressure Lukashenko
As Polish haulers’ blockade of border checkpoints with Ukraine stretches into its second month, thousands of Ukrainian truckers remain stranded in huge lines waiting to cross into their homeland. They say they’re losing patience. Though the estimated waiting time has somewhat dropped since the start of the protests on
Russia's 2024 federal budget brought little in the way of surprises, the country is gearing up for a long war. Signed by President Vladimir Putin earlier this week, it ushered record levels of military spending — a sign of Moscow's commitment to its war against Ukraine. While part of the Russian
Belarus hosts the CSTO summit, with the notable attendance of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the absence of Armenia’s representative. Ukraine imposes sanctions on Russian and Belarusian defense sectors for 50 years after the end of the war. The OSCE designates Malta as the organization’s head after Russia
WARSAW – In October, Polish voters demonstrated that even extremely unequal elections against authoritarian incumbents can be won. The opposition’s victory, and the country’s subsequent re-democratization, may hold useful lessons for like-minded forces in Hungary, Turkey, and elsewhere. In Poland, the defeated populist leader, Jarosław Kaczyński of Law and
Subscribe to the Newsletter Belarus Weekly Join us Poland deploys a tank battalion near its border with Belarus citing an eastern threat. Belarus develops a new system that would allow it to inspect all mail coming from the European Union. The European Parliament urges the EU to restrict Russian and
Ukraine has been wreaking havoc on Russia’s navy in the Black Sea through the use of new homemade sea drones and foreign-supplied cruise missiles. As a result of these suffocating attacks, Russia has been forced to have the bulk of its navy retreat from Sevastopol — a port that was
One of Ukraine's worst fears appears to have come to pass: a key ally announced a halt to military aid. Slovakia, Ukraine's small eastern neighbor of 5.4 million people, gave generously from its Soviet-era arsenal and welcomed Ukrainian refugees after the full-scale war began. Now, a recent election handed
Slovakia's new Prime Minister, Robert Fico, is consistent in his comments that his country will stop providing aid to Ukraine. He also regularly parrots Russian propaganda, blaming Kyiv for Russia's invasion. This makes two of them, with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban long being accused of being Moscow's favorite EU
When Belarusian author Hanna Komar brought the manuscript for her poetry collection “Ribwort” to a publisher in Belarus in the summer of 2021, she was told that their business would be shut down if they published her work. Komar, like thousands of her fellow Belarusians, took part in the 2020-2021
On the surface, Russian President Vladimir Putin's trip to Kazakhstan on Nov. 9 exuded an air of business as usual. The Russian leader was met at dawn on the tarmac of Astana airport by Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev before being greeted by an official guard of honor. The trip coincided
Belarus reignites the border crisis spat with Latvia, claiming to have found dead migrants at the countries’ shared border. Latvia denies the claim. The editor-in-chief of an independent Belarusian-language newspaper is sentenced to four years in prison. Human rights groups deem the move politically motivated. Sweden appoints a special envoy
Maria Lvova-Belova, a Russian official wanted by the International Criminal Court for abducting Ukrainian children, visits Minsk to discuss the “protection of children.” Hungary’s foreign minister makes a second controversial visit to Minsk. Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko invites Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to visit Belarus. A Belarusian official
The story around the Polish parliamentary elections earlier this month is one of a country at a crossroads. It was said that these were the most important elections since 1989, as a further Law and Justice (PiS) government would have cemented an increasingly illiberal system. In Western media outlets, the
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