Belarus Digest - News and Analysis of Belarusian Politics, Economy, Human Rights and Myths

Are Belarusians fundamentally rural Orthodox Christians?

The vast majority of the Belarusian population is urban - only 25 percent live in rural areas.

Most residents of Belarus are not religious. Although the majority would say they are Christian Orthodox, they usually neither go to the church nor observe religious rites. As...

Have Belarusians Always Used the Cyrillic Alphabet?

The Belarusian language now predominantly uses the Cyrillic script. Most texts in Belarusian are written in Cyrillic. Nevertheless, since the Middle Ages, there has been a strong tradition of Latin script usage. Following independence some people revived the historic tradition of writing...

Is Healthcare in Belarus Free?

Officially health care is free in Belarus. However, an ordinary Belarusian very often cannot obtain even basic services free of charge. There are some segments of the health care system where people do not have to pay. That includes staying in a shared hospital room, birth delivery,...

Does Lukashenka have the support of the average Belarusian?

In 1994 Alyaksandr Lukashenka unexpectedly won the first Belarusian elections. Since that time, measuring his popularly is difficult for two reasons. First, since 1994 elections have no longer been free and fair. Second, most of the population has no access to independent media.

How effective is the democratic opposition in Belarus?

Most of the democratic opposition consists of hermetic and fully-controlled top-down structures. They find it difficult to reach out to ordinary citizens or build broader networks. The political opposition has often been marginalized in the country – it is isolated not only...

Is Alexander Lukashenka a phenomenon himself?

Lukashenka's rule is usually characterized as ironfisted. However, he would not have been able to rule since 1994 without a certain degree of public consent, authoritarian conditions imposed on the political opposition, and support from Russia. In serious independent research, he appears...

Is Russia interested in regime change in Belarus?

Russia`s intention has never been regime change despite frequent and noisy anti-Lukashenka campaigns and speculations over possible support to opposition candidates, For Moscow any other president would mean a new large opening to the West.

Is all Belarusian opposition nationalistic and anti-Russian?

The Belarusian opposition is not more nationalistic than most of the population. Nearly all politicians use both Belarusian and Russian, and the majority of opposition groups support balanced relations with both Russia and the West.

Are there foreign companies working in Belarus?

Although many imagine Belarus as a mini-Soviet Union, Belarusian cities, and particularly Minsk, are very similar to other European capitals. Western restaurants and hotel and apparel chains are not as abundant as in the neighboring countries, but still present. A number of foreign companies,...

Is the language issue important in Belarus?

In the mid-1990s, the language question was one of the most contested in Belarusian politics. Lukashenka skillfully positioned himself as the protector of the Russian language in Belarus, which helped him get political and economic support from Moscow.

Myths about Belarus