I will be writing a weekly column for The Atlantic Council’s BelarusAlert and reposting here. Below is my column from January 20, 2021.
The International Ice Hockey Federation’s decision to move this year’s world championship from Belarus despite a personal appeal from Alyaksandr Lukashenka not to do so is just the latest sign of the Belarusian strongman’s isolation.
Examples of Lukashenka’s ostracization have been mounting since August 2020, when he launched a brutal crackdown against pro-democracy demonstrators protesting an election that the opposition and much of the international community believe was rigged.
In December 2020, the International Olympic Committee banned him from attending the next Olympic Games. And the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union have all imposed sanctions.
As Western countries and the international community move quickly to punish Lukashenka, they are also embracing the Belarusian opposition and civil society like never before. Continue reading…
