People hold a traditional Belarusian flag with a portrait of presidential candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya during a rally in Minsk, Belarus, in August 2020. She’s among 20 people being tried in absentia.
(AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
Having silenced critics at home, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is now seeking to do so beyond the country’s borders.
In this photo released by Sputnik news agency on Feb. 9, 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson at the Kremlin in Moscow.
(Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Why is there such a Russian focus on the Second World War? Because it’s used to justify authoritarian states, the rule of dictators like Putin and Belarus’s Alexander Lukashenko.
The good old days: Wagner Group leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, rose to prominence after being a Kremlin catering boss.
Associated Press/Alamy Stock Photo
A selection of the best of our coverage of the conflict from the past fortnight.
Seeking divine help? Neither Moscow nor Minsk wants Wagner Group mercenaries stationed in Belarus to get out of control.
EPA-EFE/Alexander Demyanchuk/Sputnik/Kremlin pool
From the Arab Spring to the Belarus Awakening and the ongoing Iranian protest Women, Life, Freedom, female-centered imagery and social media are battlegrounds of resistance and oppression.
Vladimir Putin is certainly first among equals when it comes to his relationship with Belarus president, Alexander Lukashenko.
EPA-EFE/Gavril Grigorov/Sputnik/Kremlin pool
Belarusians make up one of the most prominent contingents of foreign fighters in Ukraine. Here’s why they’re fighting and what they hope to achieve for Belarus as well as Ukraine.
Two protestors, one wrapped in the Belarusian opposition flag and the other in the Ukrainian, walk side by side in Berlin calling for peace in Ukraine on February 27, 2022.
Odd Anderson/AFP
While Belarus is rightly seen as a co-aggressor in Russia’s war on Ukraine, its future involvement in the conflict is open to speculation. One thing is certain: a majority of Belarusians oppose it.
People with old Belarusian national flags march during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, in October 2020. Tens of thousands rallied to demand the resignation of the country’s authoritarian leader.
(AP Photo)
The benevolence shown to Belarusian exiles in 2020 has turned into hostility because of Russia’s attack on Ukraine. How is it fair to blame citizens for the actions of a regime they despise?
Riot police blocking the road to protesters in Minsk, Belarus, in August 2020.
iVazoUSky/Shutterstock
A co-laureate of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, the founder of the human rights centre Viasna is the fourth person in the history of the Nobel to receive this award while in prison.
Imprisoned Belarusian activist Ales Bialiatski is one of three Nobel peace prize winners. Here, receiving a prize for his work in 2020.
TT News Agency/Alamy
Imprisoned Belarus activist Ales Bialiatski, Russian human rights organisation Memorial and the Center for Civil Liberties in Ukraine have shared the award.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, left, with Vladimir Putin, accused the West of supporting Nazi ideas in May 2022.
Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images
What do Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Moldova and Kazakhstan have in common with Ukraine? Russian allegations that they are all overrun by Nazis.
Associate Professor of Instruction in the School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies, Affiliate Professor at the Institute for Russian, European, and Eurasian Studies, University of South Florida
Professor in Law and Co-Convener National Security Hub (University of Canberra) and Research Fellow (adjunct) - The Security Institute for Governance and Leadership in Africa, Faculty of Military Science, Stellenbosch University- NATO Fellow Asia-Pacific, University of Canberra