Episode 46: Belarus on the edge

The situation in Belarus is heating up ahead of the August 9th presidential elections. The most popular opposition candidates - who want to challenge the 26-year authoritarian rule of Alyaksandr Lukashenka - have been arrested and detained. Meanwhile the society remains mobilised after the state’s poor coronavirus response and brutal crackdowns on independent journalists and bloggers. In this episode of Talk Eastern Europe, Adam and Maciek catch up Hanna Liubakova, a Belarusian journalist based in Minsk, to get her perspective on the current challenges and what the situation looks like from the ground. Resources “Presidential election in Belarus: Who is participating in the race?” By Maxim Rust, Yahor Azarkevich. New Eastern Europe 15 July 2020. https://neweasterneurope.eu/2020/07/15/presidential-election-in-belarus-who-is-participating-in-the-race/“Belarusian spring? Politicisation of the wider society” By Olga Dryndova. New Eastern Europe. 8 July 2020 https://neweasterneurope.eu/2020/07/08/belarusian-spring-politicisation-of-the-wider-society/“Why Belarusians do not love Lukashenko anymore”. By Hanna Liubakova Outriders 14 July 2020 https://outride.rs/en/why-belarusians-do-not-love-lukashenko-anymore/Music featured in the podcast: Floating Cities by Kevin MacLeod/ Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3765-floating-citiesLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/SUPPORT US! Become a Patreon patron: www.patreon.com/TalkEasternEuropeTalk Eastern Europe is produced by Maciej Makulski and Adam Reichardt. The podcast is affiliated with New Eastern Europe, published by the Jan Nowak-Jeziorański College of Eastern Europe in Wrocław. Additional funding for this episode came from the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs s in the framework of the “Public Diplomacy 2020 – New dimension” grant programme.