Alyaksandr Lukashenka - главные новости

The Russian and Belarusian leaders have signed off on a series of road maps aimed at deepening the integration of the two neighbors as part of a decades-old plan to create a “Union State,” state media reported on November 4, as Minsk faces growing international pressure following last year's disputed presidential election. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka signed an agreement providing for a total of 28 integration “programs” at an online meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State. The document focuses mainly on economic and regulatory issues, including common policies on ta

The authorities in Belarus have blocked access to the website of the pro-Kremlin Russian news agency Regnum. The October 30 move was the first time Minsk has blocked access to a Russia-based media site, although it earlier blocked the Belarus-based version of the Russian tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda. The government of longtime leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka did not issue a statement explaining the decision to block Regnum. The website, however, has published numerous articles criticizin

Western diplomats in Minsk have commemorated more than 130 Belarusian intellectuals, including 22 writers and poets, who were executed by the Soviet secret police 84 years ago. The October 29 ceremony comes amid an ongoing crackdown on the opposition, civil society, and independent media following last year’s disputed presidential election that gave authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka a sixth term.

The European Union's foreign ministers have expressed support for new measures to halt the flow of illegal migrants that the bloc accuses Belarus of sending in retaliation for sanctions against authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka and his regime over its crackdown on the opposition. As the ministers gathered for a meeting in Brussels on October 18, several called for fresh sanctions against Minsk, as well as measures targeting Belarus's state airline, Belavia, as migrants from the Middle East and Africa continue to pour over the border on the EU's eastern flank.

Belarusian authorities have abolished mask mandates less than two weeks after they were introduced and a day after the country registered a record number of new coronavirus infections. The decision came after authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka dismissed the mask mandates and other measures to control the spread of COVID-19 as unnecessary. The mask mandates were introduced earlier this month amid a new wave of infections and required Bela

Belarusian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka rejected any suggestion that he should apologize for the harsh police crackdown and sweeping arrests that targeted protesters in the wake of last year’s disputed election. In an interview broadcast September 30 on CNN, Lukashenka dismissed media and rights groups’ criticism about widespread human rights abuses in Belarus. «No, I wouldn't like to use this opportunity [to apolo

The Belarusian Prosecutor-General's Office says it has suspended an investigation into the death of Raman Bandarenka, the anti-government protester whose killing in November 2020 intensified unprecedented protests demanding the resignation of authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka following a disputed election. The Prosecutor-General's Office said in a statement on September 17 that the probe was suspended because a suspect had yet to be identified in the case, adding that the case had not been closed and the probe can resume if information on a suspect arises. The 31-year-old Bandarenka died in hospital on November 12 after he was reportedly beaten by masked security forces.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says that he and his Belarusian counterpart, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, have agreed on a new unified gas market, and he praised Belarus, saying the situation there was «stabilized” after months of turmoil. Putin spoke at a joint news conference, alongside Lukashenka, on September 9, after more than three hours of talks in Moscow. Lukashenka's trip to Moscow came amid heightened speculation that he and

Belarusian police have detained several employees of BelaPAN, a private news agency, as a crackdown on media and civil society in Belarus intensifies following last year's disputed presidential election that handed victory to authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka. Belapan’s websites, belapan.by and belapan.com, also can’t be reached from both Belarus and abroad after police in Minsk on August 18 searched the homes of staff and the news agency’s office. Later in the day, BelaPAN’s director and chief editor Iryna Leushyna, accountant Katsyaryna Boyeva, and former director Dzmitry Navazhylau were detained and placed in prison.

Hundreds of people marched in Warsaw to protest political repression in Belarus on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the Belarus presidential election that the opposition says was rigged in favor of authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka. Many Belarusians living in exile in Poland joined the demonstration in which people carried the Belarusian opposition's red-and-white flag and chanted «Long live Belarus!» The protest began in central Warsaw and marched past the U.S. and Russian embassies.

Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya is expected to meet White House officials and U.S. senators on July 20 as she continues to rally support for the pro-democracy movement against authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka. Tsikhanouskaya said s

Viktar Babaryka, a former Belarusian banker whose bid to challenge authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka in last year’s disputed election was halted by his arrest, has told a court during his trial that the corruption charges against him were fabricated as he reiterated his innocence. «I cannot admit guilt for a crime I didn't commit… I'm not ashamed of anything, because I didn't do anything illegal, not anything even close to something illegal… I'm confident that I was always fair and never conducted any activities that violated the laws of Belarus,» Babaryka told the court during his final statement on June 28, which unlike previous sessions allowed the public to attend the trial.

Lawmakers in Belarus have approved the first reading of a bill amending the constitution to introduce a single voting day for all elections, a move that is likely to delay local elections and a referendum promised by authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka. The changes, supported by Lukashenka during a speech to parliament last month, were approved on June 25 during the last day of the the legislature's current session. The Telegram channel of the House of Representatives said the second reading of the bill will be held when parliament reconvenes in the autumn.

European Union foreign ministers have approved a fresh set of sanctions against scores of officials and entities in Belarus including family members of authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka. The list of 78 people and eight entities, expected to be published in the EU official journal on June 21, includes lawmakers, prosecutors, judges and other officials who the bloc says are «responsible for serious human rights violations and for seriously undermining the rule of law, as well as for the repression of civil society and democratic opposition.» Lukashenka's son, Dzmitry, and his eldest son's wife, Liliya, were also put on the sanctions list for «benefiting from and supporting the..

Belarusian Foreign Minister Uladzimer Makey has met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow to discuss the status of Russian citizen Sofia Sapega — the girlfriend of the detained Belarusian opposition activist Raman Pratasevich. Lavrov told journalists on May 18 that Makey informed him about the legal cases in Belarus against Sapega and another Russian citizen, Yegor Dudnikov. Dudnikov was arrested in Minsk in May after joining mass protests against Belarus's authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka.

Russian police have removed Belarusian opposition politician Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya from their wanted list at the initiative of the Belarusian authorities, Russia's RIA Novosti news agency reports. The report on June 15 comes a day before U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin are due to meet in Geneva for their first fa

Belarusian journalist Raman Pratasevich speaking on the Nothing Personal program on Belarusian state television. The video is the result of «abuse, torture, and threats,» said Pratasevich's father, Dzmitry.

Exiled Belarusians have launched a multiday protest on their homeland’s border with Lithuania and Poland, calling on the European Union to impose harsh sanctions against the regime of authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka. Demonstrators gathered at two border crossings on June 5, demanding the EU slap “strong and effective sanctions” against Lukashenka's regime. They are also calling on Belarusian authorities to open land borders for citizens of Belarus and the release of hundreds of political prisoners. Pavel Latushka, the head of the National Anti-Crisis Manageme

Belarusian authorities have briefly detained Alyaksey Shota, the editor in chief of the independent Hrodna.life news portal, in the western city of Hrodna. In a statement on May 30, police in Hrodna said that the news portal had posted material that was «recognized as extremist.» Shota was later released after questioning. In March, a court in Hrodna found Shota guilty of dissemin

Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka was in the Russian Black Sea resort city of Sochi for a second day of meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The talks on May 29 were described as informal by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who said the day before that the summit would last just one day.

Belarusian authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka met in the Russian Black Sea resort city of Sochi with Russian President Vladimir Putin as EU foreign ministers debate possible targets for new economic sanctions against Minsk in response to its diversion of a commercial plane and the arrest of a journalist on board. Greeting Lukashenka on May 28, Putin emphasized that the one-day meeting was scheduled prior to the «outburst of emotions» prompted by the plane diversion on May 23. «We have topics to discuss without these developments,» he told Lukashenka. «Yes, it is an outburst of emotions,» Lukashenka agreed. Belarus dispatched a fighter.

Hockey’s global governing body has criticized Latvian officials for removing the Belarusian flag from a display at the sport’s world championships in Riga and replacing it with a flag used by the opposition. The switch on May 24 during the 16-nation tournament, which Minsk was originally scheduled to co-host, saw the official Belarusian flag swapped out for the red-and-white flag that has been adopted by opponents of the country’s authoritarian leader, Alyaksandr Lukashenka.

Belarus's authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka has signed into law legislation that allows police and security forces to shoot at demonstrators. The law, endorsed by Lukashenka on May 17, frees law enforcement officers from responsibility for dama

Alyaksandr Lukashenka will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin later this month as the Belarusian strongman faces growing isolation from the West over his crackdown on peaceful protesters. The visit is scheduled for the end of May, Kommersant reported, and will be Lukashenka’s third trip to Russia this year. The two leaders will discuss their closer integration, among other issues, the paper reported. Putin has been pushing Lukashenka in recent years to take steps toward the integration of their economi