What's Happening in Belarus?

For almost the entirety of its nearly three decades of independence, the former Soviet country of Belarus has been led under an iron fist by autocrat Alexander Lukashenko. When Belarusians went to the polls last month to vote for their next president, few could have imagined the push for political change —and the movement of mass protests that would soon catapult the country into international headlines.

As protests continue amidst a violent crackdown by the government, GMF’s Jonathan Katz is joined by Artyom Shraibman, a Belarusian political analyst based in Minsk to discuss what’s really going on in Belarus, what Vladimir Putin’s role is in all of this, and why this tiny country in Europe's east has so much geopolitical importance.

This episode is the first of Out of Order’s new format. In which it will feature a rotating cast of GMF experts speaking with renowned voices in their respective fields. This discussion was taped on Friday, September 11.

Show Notes: 

https://www.gmfus.org/blog/2020/09/14/what-kremlin-belarus

https://carnegie.ru/commentary/82715

https://carnegie.ru/commentary/82473

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/12/world/europe/belarus-russia-protests-endgame.html