YAROSLAV ROMANCHUK

Moscow’s main aim is to stop the parasitical relations with Lukashenka's regime without serious damage to the cooperation, and to establish friendly but, at the same time, pragmatic relations with the Belarusian state, which let the Kremlin keep Minsk in Russia’s sphere of influence.

BELARUSIAN INSTITUTE FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES, NASHA NIVA WEEKLY, MINSK

Presidential elections in Russia have been an event of international importance. A succession scenario had been implemented, although the former President, Vladimir Putin, still controls power being the Prime-Minister and the leader of the largest faction in the State Duma. What does this mean for Belarus?

ALIAKSANDR FIADUTA

Now there is nothing else left for the Belarusian opposition to do, but to organize the street processions. This form of political action is quite futile because it does not add electorate to the opposition.

YAROSLAV ROMANCHUK

Aliaksandr Lukashenka has done his utmost to show Belarus and the world community that he is the only and indisputable leader of the country.

ANDREY KAZAKEVICH

The official data indicate that Lukashenka is likely to get between 75 and 85% of votes in the presidential elections. However, the real support for Lukashenka is between 58 and 65%.

OLEG MANAEV

I believe that Russia’s support for Aliaksandr Lukashenka at the presidential election is quite obvious.

Eurasian Home with a kind permission of The Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies (BISS) publishes an article "Belarus' Relations with Ukraine and Lithuania Before and After the 2006 Presidential Elections", written by the BISS analyst Dzianis Melyantsou and Andrei Kazakevich, professor at the European Humanities University (Vilnius).

Eurasian Home with a kind permission of the Pontis Foundation publishes the Belarus Brief  "Power Poker: An Examination into the Dynamics of the Current Relationship between Russia and Belarus" by Andrei Liakhovich, Center for Political Education, Minsk.

Eurasian Home with a kind permission of the Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies (BISS) publishes synopsis of the international conference "Towards a New Vision of Belarus" which was held on September 10-12 in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Eurasian Home with a kind permission of the Pontis Foundation publishes the Belarus Brief "How the West continues to lose Belarus" on the current situation in Belarus and outlining possible scenarios for the 2007 year.

Eurasian Home with a kind permission of the Pontis Foundation publishes the survey on Belarus, entitled “Current Trends in Belarus Politics”. This survey deals with the leadership crisis within the United Democratic Forces (UDF), covers the preparation for the forthcoming local government elections in January 2007, gives insight on post-election developments of the regime and the democratic opposition after March 2006.

Eurasian Home with a kind permission of the Pontis Foundation publishes analysis entitled “State of the Union and the Union State”. In the light of the EU-Russia summit, the analysis offers a new look to the most important post-election development of Belarus.

Eurasian Home with a kind permission of the Pontis Foundation publishes analysis prepared by the Minsk-based Center for Political Education entitled “Belarus after Election: The Naked Dictator”.  The analysis summaries the March events, draws conclusions from the reaction of authorities and the opposition and outlines the possible development for Belarus for the beginning of the third term of Alexander Lukashenka.

Eurasian Home  with a kind permission of the Pontis Foundation publishes “Belarus Brief: Soberness and Dilemmas”. The current situation shows that dilemmas with regard to where to go from here are being faced by all key actors – by the Belarusian regime, by the opposition and civil society, by Russia and by the European Union. This brief outlines these dilemmas, some lessons learned and possible future scenarios.

Eurasian Home with a kind permission of the Pontis Foundation publishes the analysis of the Slovakia-Belarus Task Force “Belarus Before Election: David against Goliath” prepared by the Minsk-based Center for Political Education and commissioned by the Bratislava-based Pontis Foundation’s Institute for Civic Diplomacy.

Eurasian Home with a kind permission of the Pontis Foundation publishes the analysis entitled “The Fading Pillars of Power in Belarus: 100 days of Milinkevich”  prepared by the Minsk-based Center for Political Educationand commissioned by the Bratislava-based Pontis Foundation’s Institute for Civic Diplomacy briefs about the first hundred days of the “single candidate” A.Milinkevich, elected by the Congress of Democratic Forces on Oct 2, 2005.

“Eurasian Home” with a kind permission of the Pontis Foundation publishes the analysis entitled "Potential of Change or Backsliding to Conformism: Future Trends of Belarus Politics" based on thirty-one interviews with Belarusian political and social scientists from state and non-governmental analytical centres on September 3-17, 2005. The survey discusses the most important external and internal factors in the mirror of the Belarusian analysts, while outlines possible future trends of Belarus in the context of the 2006 Presidential Elections.

Aliaksandr Lukashenka has declared that in the nearest future he will devote his time to combating the “Iron Curtain”. By the ‘curtain’ he means the isolation regime which has been established by the unfriendly states around Belarus. One can interpret the Belarusian President’s statement in two ways. It is either he yet again decided to make it hot for the screen and jalousie lovers or he wishes to “remake” his own enclosure.

“Political battles are over”, said Aliaksandr Lukashenka summing up the presidential election campaign that held the Belarusians’ attention for three months. But the situation in the country is still far from being stable.

Last week Belarus held presidential elections. No sensation occurred, everything was predictable: the results, the authorities’ behavior, the opposition’s reaction, and estimations made by the Russian officials and Western bureaucrats...

It looks like it will be another long, cold winter in Belarus. On Tuesday the 21^st of February, armed KGB agents raided the homes of 10 young opposition activists in Minsk, searching their homes and taking them away for questioning. The activists were all members of Partnership, a Belarusian NGO which acts as an independent monitor of elections.