logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2021
23m 51s

Belarus: Can President Lukashenko be ove...

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Over his 26 years in power, Belarus’s president Alexander Lukashenko has taken more and more control.

He has detained protesters and tortured political opponents for years. He is emboldened by his last ally in Europe - Vladimir Putin. And his regime of terror is spilling over into the continent.

But, Tanya Beckett asks if Europe’s last dictator can cling on to power for much longer.

Produced by Soila Apparicio.

(image: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at a meeting with Commonwealth of Independent States officials in Minsk May 28 2021. Credit: Dmitry Astakhov/Getty Images)

Up next
Jul 8
Can Brazil’s supercows feed the world?
Brazil’s Zebu cattle, or “supercows” are bred for size, strength, and meat quality. Every year the animals are showcased at ExpoZebu, Brazil’s premier cattle fair. These animals are preened, pampered, and prized, before being sold for millions for their genetic material. Zebu cat ... Show More
23 m
Jul 1
Does Trump care about Taiwan?
Ahead of last year’s US Presidential elections, Donald Trump was asked if he would defend China against Taiwan, he responded that Taiwan should pay the US for protection from China. Taiwan is a self-governing island, claimed by Beijing and whilst Taiwan is not formally recognised ... Show More
22m 58s
Jun 25
How crucial is the Strait of Hormuz to global oil supplies?
The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the most important energy corridors in the world. It is the only sea route from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, it serves as the primary maritime route for oil exports from the Gulf. Any disruption to traffic through the strait would have i ... Show More
22m 59s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2021
You can run from Belarus but can you hide?
One year after a contested election and many protests, the movement to free Belarus from President Alexander Lukashenko has boiled over its borders into neighboring states. This also means Belarusians around the world might fear the long arm of Lukashenko’s rule. Olympic sprinter ... Show More
23m 40s
Jun 2021
Belarus: more than a moral dilemma
The decision by Belarus to divert a plane to Minsk to arrest a dissident journalist was intended to send a message to opponents of President Alexander Lukashenko, whose 27 years in office have seen him dubbed Europe’s last dictator. However, the act has renewed international cond ... Show More
22m 38s
Sep 2020
Resisting 'Europe's last dictator' in Belarus
For more than 20 years, people in Belarus have been protesting against the authoritarian rule of President Alexander Lukashenko - who's been dubbed Europe's last dictator. Lukashenko came to power in a landslide election victory in 1994 but he soon changed the constitution to giv ... Show More
12m 52s
Sep 2020
A High-Stakes Standoff in Belarus
Aleksandr Lukashenko came to office in Belarus in the 1990s on a nostalgic message, promising to undo moves toward a market economy and end the hardship the country had endured after gaining independence from the Soviet Union. As president, he acquired dictatorial powers, removin ... Show More
36m 48s
Sep 2020
Gitanas Nausėda: Will people power take Belarus in a new direction?
Will Moscow’s will prevail in Belarus, or will people power take the country in a new direction? Stephen Sackur speaks to Gitanas Nausėda, the president of neighbouring Lithuania. The daily street protests demanding the resignation of Belarus’s authoritarian President Alexander L ... Show More
24m 4s
Aug 2020
Fighting for democracy on the streets of Belarus
Two weeks ago, Alexander Lukashenko claimed to win a sixth term as president of the Republic of Belarus. But after his 26 year rule, many in Belarus have had enough. Since the August 9th election, the country has seen widespread protests which have been met with mass arrests and ... Show More
29m 22s
Mar 2022
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya: Is the fate of Belarus tied to the fate of Ukraine?
With the world focused on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it’s easy to overlook one other key element of Vladimir Putin’s Greater Russia strategy: Moscow’s ever tighter grip on Ukraine’s northern neighbour Belarus, now used as a launchpad for the Ukraine assault. Belarus’s authorit ... Show More
22m 57s
Nov 2021
How Belarus Manufactured a Border Crisis
For three decades, President Aleksandr Lukashenko of Belarus, a former Soviet nation in Eastern Europe, ruled with an iron fist. But pressure has mounted on him in the past year and a half. After a contested election in 2020, the European Union enacted sanctions and refused to re ... Show More
27m 52s