External Factors in Post-election Developments in Belarus

The August 9 Presidential elections and post – election developments in Belarus are in the center of focus of both Mass Media and expert community. There are several assessments regarding the involvement of foreign actors and their intentions. Some experts argue that post-election protests were organized by Russia, which key goal is to force President Lukashenko out of power. Others believe in more traditional explanations; Western powers, in particular Poland and Baltic states have sought to organize a new “color revolution” in the post-soviet space, to bring anti-Russian forces into power and to pull Belarus out of Russian sphere of influence. In the new episode of “Crossroad” Benyamin Poghosyan discusses these issues with the Director of Minsk based Center for Strategic and foreign policy studies Arseni Sivitski. CivilNet thanks the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) for their cooperation and support.