Politics and environment

Where ends the government and starts the country? In Belarus these two dimensions are two very different things. It seems like the untrue actions of government shades a true beauty of Belarusian nature.  Because of a constant focus on political and economical situation in Belarus, people forget that Belarus possesses the most beautiful and oldest forests in Europe. These forests are the “lungs” of Europe. Due to a media noise people do not know that Belarus is called “blue eyed” because of thousands of lakes on its territory. To remember about our natural heritage and protect it, if the government does not do it, this should be done by each of us. 

Lake created in chalk quarry

What is Chernobyl today?

               Today is the 30th anniversary of the biggest anthropogenic catastrophe in the history of human kind. The Chernobyl disaster took place on the 26 April 1986. When I was growing up in Belarus the notion of ‘Children of Chernobyl’ accompanied us. We grew up acknowledging the catastrophe, however we still do not know how it has changed us. For the current Belarusian government the problem of Chernobyl does not exist. It ignores the disaster, its ‘Children of Chernobyl’ and the millions of people affected by the catastrophe. How many more lives, diseases and years should Belarusians pay to know the truth?

Polish reformer in Ukraine

Leszek Balcerowicz, the former Finance Minister of Poland, has become the president’s representative in the Cabinet of Ministers in Ukraine. Balcerowicz is famous by his drastic but very efficient “shock therapy” package implemented in the 90s in Poland. There are voices (among of them Saakashvili) stating that there are many local experts who are worth to take such posts. They are right. However, Saakashvili was also invited from “outside” in order to create an efficient and corruption-free government. In order to break the oligarchy power in Ukraine it is prescribed to have people, who are not involved in the corruption machinery.

I encourage you to read more about the reforms of Balcerowicz and Saakashvili and how they should be implemented in Ukraine in my article here.

Visa-free travel to EU for Ukrainians

Despite scepticism of many people (unfortunately, mostly Ukrainians) the EU-Ukraine visa liberalisation will soon reach its fortunate end. The negative results of the referendum in the Netherlands on April 6 seemed to decrease hopes of Ukrainians for the EU associate agreement. However, on April 20 the European Commission has announced and published a proposal regarding the visa-free travel for Ukrainians. The proposal has been addressed to EU Parliament and the Council. The document does not include any other requirements to be fulfilled by the Ukrainian side. The real possible date of a final decision is June 2016.

Nadiya Savchenko: “my word cannot be taken away”

The agreement on release of N. Savchenko has been achieved between Petro Poroshenko and Vladimir Putin by telephone call on Monday, April 20. Mother and sister of Nadiya along with P. Poroshenko had a telephone call with her yesterday. Despite the poor health after the dry hunger strike of Russian illicit prisoner, sentenced for 22 years, N. Savchenko’s spirit is strong and unshakable. Her reaction on the news about her possible release was very a strong as N. Savchenko herself: “the last word belongs to me and it cannot be taken away”. 

The mean of political will

          Results of the consultative referendum on the EU-Ukraine accociation agreement taken place in the Netherlands on 6 of April were not positive both for Ukraine and the EU. There are many talks if actually Dutch people were voting against the idea of the EU and its further enlargement instead of the agreement with Ukraine. Despite the lack of support from the Dutch society the government of the Netherlands is willing to consulate further actions with the EU Parliament. At the same time “engines” of the EU mechanism - Germany and France have a strong political will to make the agreement real. And this means much more for the future of the EU-Ukrainian cooperation than the results of the referendum.

How Nagorno-Karabakh conflict can be used by Kremlin?

The tension between Turkey and Russia has not been over yet. Kremlin would not loose an opportunity to create a leverage in relations with Turkey. So it is a perfect occasion to set on fire the existing conflict, where one of the site is the closest ally of Turkey. The conflict would also strengthen the authority of Moscow in Armenia by enhancing the security dependence from Russian military help. In the end, like in the situation of war in Syria Russia could be seen on the international arena as a “peace-keeper” diligently acting in the region. It is Russia that was called to participate in conflict settlement, it means the international community still considers Russia as a key actor. And this is what Kremlin likes the most.

Just another front-pager

What does leak of Panama papers mean for the world? It proves again that Russia is corrupt. Is it anything new? Not really. It means more attention, a front-pager in western media. What does it mean for Russia? One should not think that when Russians had heard the news, they went out protesting on the streets like people did in Iceland. Only individual activists for whom it is really hard to express their point of view in Russia since it does not fit the common opinion. To expect from Putin’s supporters to start seeing the ugly truth about their leader, is to make them doubt about his truthfulness. The idea that the leader is always right has been cultivated in the last century in very cruel way. Could some light on the truth fight the entire darkness of deception?

In order to know your enemy you should think like him

     The politics of Kremlin is not without surprises. It is full of shocks and sudden movements. To be more effective in destabilizing peace in Europe and keep the world in tension, Russia acts where no one expects. In March it was Putin’s sudden decision to withdraw Russian troops from Syria. And now in April, just a few days ago, when everyone expected Russian provocation in Ukraine, the frozen conflict of Nagorno-Karabakh got on fire. In addition to Ukrainian and Syrian wars, and Crimea annexation, Europe receives another hot spot in the region.