Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

RFE/RL Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova Report 8/23/2011 6:10:05 PM A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova. For more stories on Eastern Europe, please visit and bookmark our Eastern Europe page .

 

Belarus Belarus On The Brink Discontent simmers in Belarus as the economic crisis gripping the unreformed post-Soviet economy shows no sign of abating. And with winter approaching, economists warn that the pain is only just beginning with more hikes on food, utilities and consumer goods on the horizon. More   Posters Of Jailed Belarusian Opposition Leader Appear In Vitsebsk Some 20 posters of jailed former Belarusian presidential candidate Andrey Sannikau appeared on walls and fences in the eastern city of Vitsebsk today. More   Italian Embassy Revokes Belarusian University Rector's Visa The Italian Embassy in Minsk has revoked an entry visa issued to the rector of Belarus State University, Syarhey Ablameyka. More   Former Belarusian Presidential Candidates' Lawyer Disbarred A Belarusian lawyer who represented two former presidential candidates at their trials earlier this year has been disbarred. More   Kyrgyz Protesters Demand Release Of Belarusian Activist A dozen Kyrgyz activists have picketed the Belarusian Embassy in Bishkek to demand the immediate release from a Minsk jail of human rights defender Ales Byalyatski. More   Soviet Dissidents: Pardoned Belarusian Activists Should Not Be Criticized Prominent Soviet-era dissidents Sergei Kovalyov and Vladimir Bukovsky say nine jailed Belarusian opposition activists pardoned by President Alyaksandr Lukashenka last week should not be condemned for requesting clemency. More   Poland Sorry It Gave Minsk Activist Info Poland has apologized for handing the Belarusian authorities information about a prominent rights activist arrested this month. Another European Union country, Lithuania, has already apologized for providing Belarus with banking details that led to his detainment. More   Poland Admits Role In Activist's Arrest Poland's Foreign Ministry said today that authorities in Belarus did receive banking information about activist Ales Byalyatski from the Polish Prosecutor-General's Office. More   Lukashenka Pardons 9 For Protests Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has pardoned nine of the 41 people convicted for taking part in the massive December 19 protests that followed his disputed reelection. More   Belarusian Opposition Dismayed By Lithuania's Aid In Activist's Arrest The democratic opposition in Belarus is still reeling from revelations that Lithuania provided information to Minsk that led to the arrest of a leading human rights activist. A contrite Vilnius is scrambling to apologize for its role, while the Belarusian opposition says the incident shows that Europe should take an even harder line against Minsk. More   Kyrgyz Protest At Belarusian Embassy For Bakiev Extradition A small group of activists in Bishkek has protested outside the Belarusian Embassy to demand the extradition of former Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev More   Moldova The Post-Soviet Generation Looks To Future In Europe's Poorest Country Independent Moldova is now 20 years old, and a whole generation has grown up in the new country. And both that generation and Moldova are struggling with daunting ethnic, social, economic, and political divisions. More   Moldovan Jailed In Transdniester For Spying Won't Change Plea To Get Pardon A Moldovan man imprisoned for espionage in the separatist Transdniester region says he will not change his plea of not guilty in order to gain a pardon. More   Moldovan Coalition Party Suggests Solution To Political Deadlock A junior partner in Moldova's coalition government says it is ready to accept a castling between acting President Marian Lupu and Prime Minister Vlad Filat as a way out of the country's prolonged political deadlock. More   Ukraine Aide: Tymoshenko Fate 'Hangs On Support At Home And Abroad' A close aide to jailed former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko says her fate depends on the level of support she can garner from people at home and abroad. More   Podcast: Stepping Out Of The Shadow Of The Soviet Empire In Episode 32, Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov reminisces about the August 1991 events in Russia and reflects on what went wrong across post-Soviet states after the collapse of the empire. RFE/RL's Armenian, Ukrainian, and Uzbek broadcasters visit with host Pavel Butorin to discuss their countries’ efforts -- or lack thereof -- to break away from their Soviet past. More   20 Years After The Big Breakup, Does The 'Former Soviet Union' Still Exist? Two decades after the fall of the Soviet Union, its successor states encompass squeaky clean Scandinavian-style democracies like Estonia, autocratic despotisms like Uzbekistan -- and everything in between. Is it even possible to speak of a coherent "post-Soviet space" anymore? More   Yushchenko In Ukraine Court Once they were allies and partners in power. But then they fell out -- and now former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has testified against ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in a Kyiv court. More   Ukrainian Activists Worried About Extensive Police Training Some Ukrainian human rights and opposition activists say that extra training by police said to be preparation for the 2012 European soccer championships will instead be used to suppress antigovernment protests. More   Rash Of Ukraine Dog Poisonings Residents and activists turn sleuths to identify who's behind a spate of dog poisonings in Lviv that has left scores of pets and stray canines dead. More   Ukrainian Experts Say Kyiv Correct In Selling Carrier To China Ukrainian military experts say Kyiv had no choice but to sell an unfinished ship to China that has been turned into Beijing's first aircraft carrier. More   The Tymoshenko Reality Show For Ukrainians, the brief 24-hour respite from the reality show that is the trial of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is over. The case resumed today in a Kyiv courtroom. From the day the confrontation between the administration of current President Viktor Yanukovych and Tymoshenko began, the two sides have seemed like speeding trains, bound to collide at some point. More   Even In Prison, Tymoshenko Keeping Up Appearances Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych may have hoped he'd seen the last of his arch-rival Yulia Tymoshenko when a judge in Kyiv put her in jail for contempt of court. But five days into her sentence, the charismatic heroine of the Orange Revolution is not only unbowed but positively luminous, appearing in court in a sleek white dress, full makeup, and her traditional braid crown immaculately in place. Her defenders complain prison conditions -- including a lack of hot water and cigarette-smoking cell mates -- will damage the ex-premier's health and morale. But to the outside eye, Tymoshenko has never looked better. What's her secret? More