Society | Belarus - Expat Reporter

The Jewish Resistance Museum in Novogrudok

History of the Kushners: why Donald Trump’s in-laws are coming to Belarus this summer

The founder and curator of the Museum of Jewish Resistance in Novogrudok, Tamara Vershitskaya, met with Charles Kushner, a US billionaire and in-law of US President Donald Trump, in January in New York. Now she is talking about this meeting and how the family of the American billionaire keeps the memory of Belarus.

The Swiss embassy was opened in Minsk

Ron Mitchell

In Minsk, at Svabody Square, 11 Swiss Embassy was opened. Before that, only a representative office of this country worked in Belarus. The head of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign AffairsIgnazio Cassis flew to the Belarusian capital for the opening ceremony. Together with him the embassy was opened by the head of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry Vladimir Makei.

Europe’s Last Soviet Economy Approaches Its ‘Hour of Reckoning’

Michael Pike

Belarus kept old factories, jobs, and social services alive after communism. Now that model is under threat from Russia, Bloomberg Businessweek writes in its recent article about Belarus

The new British Ambassador to Belarus, Jacqueline Perkins

UK Ambassador in Belarus Jacqueline Perkins: “They in London work hard to deliver brexit in time”

Ron Mitchell

The new British Ambassador to Belarus, Jacqueline Perkins, tells about the prospects for the development of Belarusian-British relations, her attitude to problems of the death penalty and homophobia, as well as expectations of the upcoming parliamentary elections in Belarus.

USA Charge d'Affaires in Belarus Jennifer Moore

Head of the U.S. Embassy Jennifer Moore on U.S. visas, Kremlin influence and elections in Belarus

Ron Mitchell

Since Karen Stewart left that post in March 2008, the U.S. diplomatic mission to Belarus has been head by a Chargé d’Affaires. For a little over a year, Jenifer Moore has been working in this position, representing the U.S. government and its interests here. Now she speaks about the expected arrival of a new ambassador, the high cost of American visas, what she expects from Belarusian parliamentary elections, and what she does in addition to her work.

US, Belarus plan to restore ambassadors after 11-year freeze

Susan Holmes

The rapprochement comes as Belarus seeks to ease its isolation in the West and balance its close ties with Russia. The US and Belarus withdrew their ambassadors in 2008.

Some foreign embassies in Belarus pay only 1 USD for land. Others are not that lucky

Ron Mitchell

The Chinese and UAE embassies have allocated land for a dollar. What about Russia, the United States, Ukraine and others? As it turned out, the approaches in many cases are different.

Swiss representation in Belarus to be upgraded to full embassy

Ron Mitchell

At its meeting on 15 May 2019, the Federal Council decided to upgrade the Swiss representation in Minsk to a full embassy. The decision was based on the steadily growing relations between Switzerland and Belarus.

Minsk Signals its Red Line on Russian Ambassador’s Behavior

Ron Mitchell

Recurrent tensions have long been inherent in Belarusian-Russian relations. Recently, developments took a somewhat unusual turn when the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) exchanged tough words with the Russian ambassador to Belarus, Mikhail Babich.

Belarus-EU Relations: Uneven Rapprochement

Ron Mitchell

The first three months of 2019 already saw a series of positive developments in the normalization of relations between Belarus and the European Union. Yet, the process remains not only slow, but also contradictory. This is one of the conclusions that came out of a March 5 government meeting on foreign policy, held by Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka.