cafebabel.com

Ladies what oppose Belarus in Vilnius

('Annie Rutherford',) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 15:50:35 -0000

Belarus is just 40 kilometres away from the Lithuanian capital. Belarusian human rights campaigners use Vilnius as an asylum and distribution centre - yet the Lithuanian president keeps up a good relationship with the Belarusian despot

Pan-Slavism, Slovio and Polish the 'status symbol'

('Francesca Reinhardt',) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 09:00:00 -0000

The Slavic languages all have their roots in Proto-Slavic. Since the twelfth century, however, they have drifted apart. One of them reached its zenith in the seventeenth century: Polish

Dear granddad, for Christmas I'd like a Eurasian union

('Virag Gulyas',) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 10:23:46 -0000

In October Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin proposed a 'Eurasian union' of former soviet nations that could be a major global player competing for influence with the US, the EU and Asia, creating instant headlines about the threat of Russian expansionism. Is Putin mastering geopolitics? Where are the limits of his modernisation strategy?

Belarus schools: language of peasants or programmers?

('Annie Rutherford',) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:26:22 -0000

According to its constitution Belarus has two state languages - Belarusian and Russian. Authoritarian president Alexander Lukashenko has repeatedly emphasised the equality of both, but nationalist Belarusians view the state policy as 'russification'. The argument is being played out in the schools

Germans ban ‘I Like’ facebook button, Spanish want to ‘Dislike’

('Annie Rutherford',) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 12:04:43 -0000

The north German state Schleswig Holstein has announced that it is banning facebook’s famous ‘I like’ button, with websites which haven’t removed it before the end of September facing fines of up to 50, 000 euros (44,000 pounds). Whilst Germany and the UK have raised more general concerns, the Spanish were there first

Ukraine, Belarus, Egypt...free the online activist in you

('Ilona Nuk\xc5\xa1evica',) — Wed, 11 May 2011 15:03:17 -0000

Ukraine’s ‘Day of Wrath’ against its president on 14 May has been organised online. Belarus’ internet is the only escape from regime propaganda. The Arab world reported its transitions online. Amidst these examples, Peter Ludlow, cyber rights activist and philosophy professor at Northwestern University in Illinois, emphasies that politics can be influenced in bottom-up solutions. Interview

Ludicrousness from Lukaschenko Land: 1994, 2001, 2006, 2010

('Annie Rutherford',) — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 13:00:39 -0000

It is a dictatorship and it is our dictatorship: in Europe, right next door to the EU. On 19th December it’s that time again: Belarusian citizens will be called upon to elect their president. In the lead up to this date one Frenchwoman in Berlin discusses the ludicrousness from Lukashenko land on cafébabel.com. Claudine Delacroix’ fifth post considers 'modest election forecasts and idiots in the opposition'

December Belarus elections: protests as absurd as the president

('Annie Rutherford',) — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 17:52:45 -0000

In a bimonthly series, one Frenchwoman in Berlin discusses the latest ludicrousness from Lukashenko land. Post three: the absurd forms of Belarusian protests

Alice in Belarus (Wonderland): politician tries to enter local elections

('Peter Robbins',) — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 12:50:27 -0000

This is the story of Olga Karatch, a Belarusian dissident and 'Nash Dom' human rights activist, and her participation in local elections in Belarus. Those were in May 2010, but Olga’s testimony has lost none of its relevance. Unfortunately, it's all too synonymous with the state of Belarusian politics as a whole, and with elections looming on 19 December

Belarus elections: facebook birthday boy?

('jGRAN',) — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 12:27:53 -0000

On 19 December the Belarusians will be electing their new president. In a bimonthly series, one Frenchwoman in Berlin discusses the latest ludicrousness from Lukashenko land. Post one: how autocrats change their birthdays

Cheese People: 'European' face of Russian music

('Natasha Doff',) — Wed, 26 May 2010 15:12:33 -0000

From the banks of the River Volga just west of the Urals mountains, which mark the geographical border between Europe and Asia, a funky new band is making a big impact on the Russian music scene: an unsigned, energetic female-fronted quartet with a disco-punk sound. We meet backstage in Moscow

News: Polish president Lech Kaczynski dies

Sat, 10 Apr 2010 18:54:06 -0000

Smolensk, Russia. The Tupolev crashed one morning in April, the 10th. Lech Kaczynski, his wife Maria and other high-figuring state officials were amidst 88 passengers and eight crew members who died instantly. Having tried to land amidst bad fog, the presidential plane hit the trees on the fourth attempt which tore the jet up

Visit to the EHU: Belarusian elite university exiled in Vilnius

('Sarah Truesdale',) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:00:19 -0000

The decision was taken: the European humanities university, created in Minsk, Belarus in 1992, packed up to join Vilnius (and democracy) in 2004. In this oasis of free education, Belarusian youth have been exiled further and further to the west

Stanislav Markelov and Anastasia Baburova: ‘Russian murders shocking, but hardly a surprise’

('Iryna V',) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:44:50 -0000

As we mourn our lost Russian colleagues, Belarusians do not forget our own Baburovas, Politkovskayas and Klebnikovs. We remember why they perished. Expresso

Choose a language - Belarusian or Russian

('Sarah Meleleu',) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 12:00:00 -0000

In Belarus opinions do not only differ on the domineering president Lukaschenko, who has announced a general election for 28 September

Iryna Vidanava: ‘Belarusians abroad can protest via the internet’

('Sarah Gray',) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 08:00:00 -0000

The thirty-year-old journalist from Minsk saw her magazine closed down by the regime. We talk press freedom, the political engagement of young Belarusians and elections on 28 September

Minsk: the tidy road to regime perfection

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 12:00:00 -0000

Neat, elegant, so clean that you want to go barefoot – that is how the Lukashenko regime likes to present the capital of Belarus - the one visible to tourists, that is

Poland's 10, 000 border guards

('Natasha Doff',) — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0000

Since 21 December 2007 there have been no border controls between Poland and Portugal. In Germany there have been fears that the Polish authorities aren’t ready to take on the security of the entire EU

The eastern punk Svieta Songako

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 12:00:00 -0000

Art is politics. The fourth and last chapter of our portraits of artists who are attempting to resist the ‘cultural Chernobyl’ in a Belarus that is in Alexander Lukashenko’s stranglehold

Political choreographers: Alexandre and Natalia Furman

('Andrew Burgess',) — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 12:55:00 -0000

Art is politics: the third part of our series on portraits of artists attempting to resist the 'cultural Chernobyl’, which reigns in Belarus, a country asphyxiated by the authoritarian regime of president Alexander Lukashenko

Men creating men in Belarus

Mon, 09 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0000

Art is politics - the second part in our series of profiles of artists trying to resist a ‘cultural Chernobyl’ in a Belarus stifled by president Aleksander Loukachenko

Belarus rocks

('Andrew Burgess',) — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 12:00:00 -0000

Art is politics: the first part of our series on portraits of artists who attempt to resist the 'cultural Chernobyl' which reigns in Belarus, a country asphyxiated by the authoritarian regime of president Alexander Lukashenko

Free Theatre of Minsk: onstage resistance

Tue, 22 May 2007 12:00:00 -0000

The Belarusian independent theatre company uses black humour and underground performances to protest against 'Europe's last dictatorship'

Yuri Khashchevatsky: 'Being Belarusian is fashionable these days'

Fri, 18 May 2007 00:00:00 -0000

Visionary film director Yuri Khashchevatsky, 60, is a principal figure of Belarusian dissent. He criticises ineffective opposition, and talks up the new role the Internet plays in the resistance

Alexander Milinkievich: 'voting in Belarus oft means ending up jobless'

Fri, 23 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0000

The leader of the group of opposition parties in Belarus and Sakharov Prize winner on the need for close collaboration between his country and the EU

'Gas-Opec': alarm bells for Europe

Tue, 13 Mar 2007 12:00:00 -0000

EU President Barroso calls for a common European energy policy, as Russian president Putin amongst others propose a gas cartel

Olga Karatch: 'Lukashenko takes EU leaders for great lumps'

Wed, 07 Feb 2007 18:05:00 -0000

The German presidency of the EU judged the local elections on January 14 in Belarus ‘undemocratic’. The country’s opposition has already announced its intention of contesting Lukashenko

Death penalty: bring it back?

Thu, 01 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0000

In 2005, 60% of Europeans were against the death penalty. A month after Saddam Hussein's execution, opinion particularly divides Eastern Europe

Crisis of the opposition in Belarus

Mon, 01 May 2006 14:00:00 -0000

On 27 April, Alexander Milinkevich, leader of the Belarussian opposition, was arrested. This does not bode well for the future of Belarus. For the opposition, finding international support has become a vital task

Belarus and their rigged election

Wed, 22 Mar 2006 12:00:00 -0000

'Neither free, nor fair'. For the observers sent to the Belarus elections by the organisation for security and cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on 19 March, Alexander Lukashenko's victory is as comfortable as it is suspicious

Rainbow revolutions, what colour will Belarus be?

Tue, 14 Mar 2006 11:30:00 -0000

The political change at the root of the mass demonstrations in Georgia or the Ukraine gave confidence to the social movements, but it also put governments that feel ‘threatened’ by them on the alert. Will the revolutionary rainbow finish in Kiev or Belarus?

Solana: “Lukashenko, not the EU, is isolating Belarus”

Mon, 13 Mar 2006 02:00:00 -0000

Javier Solana, EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), speaks of the conditions needed to bring Minsk closer to the EU.

Artists in arms

Mon, 30 Jan 2006 02:00:00 -0000

Politics is not the only thing to have changed in Poland since the fall of communism. Maria Staszkiewicz investigates the underground artists trying to bring a little perspective to Polish lives.

Belarus - The last dictatorship in Europe

Tue, 18 Jun 2002 04:28:00 -0000

On the doorstep of Europe, Belarus has earned the reputation of a left-over relic from the Soviet Union. Over the past ten years, the country has become increasingly isolated by its leaders while its people live under the shadow of an unreformed KGB. Jacob Resneck meets the young people involved in the struggle for democratic reform.