Daily Archives: March 31, 2006

Some interesting analysis of the Belarusian elections is now being done. I already pointed to Boris Kagarlitsky’s column. Now here is a discussion with Professors Robert H. Legvold (Political Science, Columbia University) and Lucan Way (Political Science, Temple University) on the Belarusian elections, Lukashenko’s support, and its possible future from Washington Profile. For some reason the discussion isn’t in English on the site (but it is available in English in JRL #78), but it is in Russian. I won’t go over what they have to say about why Lukashenko maintains popular support despite his authoritarian rule. It is clear that he employs a combination of hard and soft power—repression and control over the media with economic populism.

Still, that doesn’t mean that Lukashenko’s rule is not shaken. Many have pointed out that the recent protests by the opposition created cracks ..read more

I’m happy to see that a nice discussion has developed around my piece on racism and xenophobia in Russia on Publius Pundit. I urge readers to join in and give their thoughts. Also I want to give special thanks to Alexei from The Russian Dilettante for giving the discussion further context and some rather erudite comments. Thanks Alexei!