Belarus: a look inside Europe's 'last dictatorship'
Lukashenko's foreign policy is defined by greed and fear. Meanwhile, beyond geopolitics, average people live in the shadow of the country's terrible 20th century history.
Interview
EU should be 'less obsessed' with Trump, says Slovak minister
Ivan Korcok says Slovakia's EU presidency has achieved "tangible results" despite difficulties caused by Brexit and the US election. But no agreement on asylum reform is in sight.
Fillon leads French right primary as Sarkozy falls
The former French president came third in the first round of the centre-right primary election on Sunday. Francois Fillon, a pro-Russia conservative, is the new favourite for next year's presidential vote.
News in Brief
- Cyprus leaders aim for map agreement
- New three-party centre-left government in Estonia
- New three-party government in Denmark
- Support for the EU on the rise
- Brussels to name public space after murdered UK MP Jo Cox
- World tells Trump climate momentum is 'irreversible'
- No voters in Dutch Ukraine referendum 'not anti-EU'
- EU states give conditional approval to visa-free travel for Ukraine
Belarus - Europe's last dictatorship
Caught between the competing geopolitical interests of its neighbours, Belarus President Alexander Lukashanko has managed to position himself as a strategic buffer between Europe and Russia. EUobserver's Nikolaj Nielsen examines life - political, economic and cultural - under this autocrat.
About Nikolaj Nielsen
Nikolaj Nielsen is a Danish-American journalist working for EUobserver in Brussels. He won a King Baudouin Foundation grant for investigative journalism in 2010.
EUobserver Investigative Reports
'Belarus - Europe's last dictatorship' is the second in a series of investigative reports by EUobserver. The report sheds light on Europe's most isolated nation and EU policy towards it. It is published in two parts.
Lithuania and Poland complicit in Belarus crackdown
Lithuania and Poland handed over confidential bank details to Belarus that led to the arrest of human rights defender, Ales Bialistki.
Who is Lukashenko anyway?
Eighteen years and still in power, Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko retains a mesmerising hold on a country which glorifies Soviet-era rule.
Belarus special forces officer: why I fled to the EU
A former officer in the 'Diamond' - Lukashenko's elite bodyguard - who lives in exile in the EU, says he "cannot remain indifferent" to the brutality of the regime.
'Lukashenko put cucumbers in my trunk'
Belarus' former leader - Stanislav Shushkevich - says Lukashenko is an "arse-kisser" whose power will wane if the EU imposes economic sanctions.
Belarus underground culture defies KGB goons
Underground culture is flourishing in the heart of Belarus despite regime attempts to establish control.
Belarus, EU sanctions and the $1mn bounty
Even as Lukashenko becomes increasingly cruel and unusual, the EU capital is seeing an unprecedented amount of lobbying on his behalf.
EU billions flow to Lukashenko despite sanctions
The EU in March blacklisted 29 Belarusian companies, but the measures are a drop in the ocean in terms of Belarus-EU economic relations.
Earthquake zone on EU border to host Belarus nuclear plant
Belarus' future nuclear plant, situated just 50km from Vilnius, sits on a fault line which saw a 7.0 magnitude earthquake in 1909.
EBRD funds pocketed by Lukashenko henchmen, politician says
Money from the London-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has been distributed to individuals connected to Belarus’ President Alexander Lukashenko, according to a career politician in the regime.
Education used as weapon against young people in Belarus
Young people in Belarus who defy the regime are denied their education, jailed or punished by reprisals against their family. Many of them just want to leave.
Stakeholders' Highlights
- Takes Part in Building Resilient Communities
- Universal Children’s Day: UNICEF Calls for Global Action on Child Rights Violations
- The EU Bank Cannot be a Key Player in Europe's Response to the Plight of Refugees
- Provides Evidence of Human Rights Violations and International Crimes in Crimea
- The Failed Military Coup in Turkey & The Mass Purges
- New Nordic Climate Solutions at COP22 in Marrakech
- NGOs Call on Development Finance Institutions to Act Against Tax Avoidance
- Our Transatlantic 9-11: Europe After Trump
- Trump Victory and Brexit Show Urgent Need of Improving Democracy
- Timmermans Points to Gülen Movement as Coup Plotter But Lacks Proof
- Steel for Packaging - The Model Material for a Circular Economy
- Childhood Obesity Rates Expected to Increase at Least Until 2025
Latest News
- EU terror bill casts wider net, raising rights issues
- European cities vow loyalty to the UK despite Brexit
- Europe can stop Syria's suffering
- EU should be 'less obsessed' with Trump, says Slovak minister
- Little to celebrate at EU-Ukraine summit
- Turkey and Ukraine This WEEK
- Right-wing extremism fuelled by a sick society
- Merkel to seek fourth term to face off populism
Stakeholders' Highlights
- Learn From Pioneers of Crowdsourcing, Crowdfunding & Innovation at #CSWEurope16 - 10% Off CSWEU16
- Erdogan's Attacks on Democracy can no Longer be Tolerated
- Beware: Countering “Violent Extremism” Online Risks Human Rights
- Security and Growth Potentials in the Energy Union
- Mosul: Children Arriving at Camps too Terrified to Speak, say World Vision Staff
- UN Global Sustainable Development Goals, Integration, and Security on Agenda for Nordic Council Session 2016
- Bleeding Lives and Money: the Cost of Internet Shutdowns from Turkey to Bahrain
- Taiwan Seeks to Join Fight against Global Warming
- Anci Lazio Definetely has a lot to Celebrate This Year
- Debating the Future of the EU-China Relations on 28 November in Prague
- Migrants: From Fear to Compassion
- Business as Usual - Juncker Snubs Environment and Protects Broken CAP