Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power for 30 years, is looking to reelect himself for the seventh time. In the run-up to the January 2025 presidential elections, Lukashenko has pardoned prisoners convicted of extremism, claiming that it was a "humane gesture" toward those who had "gone astray.
Svitlana Tsikhanouskaya, the most prominent Belarusian opposition leader, discussed efforts to maintain relations with Ukrainian authorities in a European Pravda interview on Dec. 10.
In Alexander Lukashenko's Belarus, helping to defend Ukraine against Russia gets you labeled as a terrorist. Vasil Verameichyk, a Belarusian who enlisted in Ukraine's Armed Forces just four days after Russia launched its all-out war, was detained on Nov. 13 in Vietnam in a suspected covert operation by Belarusian secret
Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko has stated that he may completely shut down the internet during the 2025 presidential elections if protests similar to those in 2020 arise, state-run news outlet Belta reported on Nov. 22.
Belarusian authorities have initiated a wave of arrests ahead of January’s election, Viasna human rights center reported on Nov. 6.
Belarus rushes forward with a presidential election, seeking to hand Alexander Lukashenko a victory six months ahead of the official term's end. In an interview, Lukashenko says North Korean troops fighting against Ukraine would be an “escalation.” Belarus and Russia to hold major joint military drills in September 2025. Belarus
Belarus schedules next presidential election for January 2025. Belarus reportedly shoots down the second Russian drone amid ongoing incursions into its airspace. The EU supports Poland’s migration plan, including suspended right to asylum amid the continued artificial migration crisis at the Belarus border. Subscribe to the Newsletter Belarus Weekly
Belarus has scheduled its next presidential election for January 26, 2025, the country’s Central Electoral Commission announced on Oct. 23. Incumbent Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko is widely expected to hold on to power following the election's result.
Editor's note: The interview has been edited for clarity. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Despite receiving popular support during the 2020 elections, the Belarusian opposition leader was kicked out of her country, her supporters were jailed en masse, while the country she wanted to
Some Belarusian political prisoners who were being held by Alexander Lukashenko's regime have been released, Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya announced on July 3.
As Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine rages on, the stability of neighboring Belarus, which has been backing Russia's aggression, appears to be fracturing. Has Russian President Vladimir Putin's war of aggression opened a Pandora's box for a regime that is practically a remote wing of the Kremlin? Recall that, in
Immediately after World War II, the Paris-exiled Polish intellectual Jerzy Giedroyc (of Lithuanian origins, born in Minsk) coined a phrase that would come to define Poland’s foreign policy toward its eastern neighbors: “There will be no independent Poland without an independent Belarus, Lithuania, and Ukraine.” Since the fall of
Around a month before Russia held its presidential elections that were neither free nor fair, Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko held his own election-style event. The Central Election Commission of Belarus, controlled by the country’s dictator, claimed an unprecedented 73% turnout. Elections in Belarus, similar to those of neighboring Russia,
Belarus opened polling stations for both the parliamentary and local elections on Feb. 25 amid condemnations from the Belarusian democratic opposition. The country is ruled by dictator Alexander Lukashenko, who uses rigged elections to solidify his regime rather than to provide a chance for actual democratic competition.
Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's "death is further proof that for dictators, human life has no value."
Editor’s Note: The full names and some of the locations of the Belarusian citizens quoted in this article have been omitted at their request to protect their identities and those of their loved ones. After participating in protests and later witnessing the defeat of the Belarusian revolution in 2020,
At the toughest moment in the history of relations between Ukraine and Belarus, the Kyiv Independent sat down to speak with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the leader of the Belarus opposition in exile. Back in 2020, Tsikhanouskaya contested Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko in the presidential election. There is evidence that the election
