Jan Maksymiuk

Analysis: Ukrainian Media Not Playing Fair In Presidential Campaign

Oleksandr Zinchenko, head of the presidential election campaign of opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko, said on 25 August that the authorities have taken a "consistent position" to pressure mass media in Ukraine. "This pressure is increasing and becoming more and more cynical and severe; this is not simply administrative resource [in use], this is a strategy," Zinchenko stressed. According to him, only a change of government may improve the situation with the freedom of expression in Ukraine.

Analysis: What Do Vodka And Sex Have To Do With Lukashenka's Rule?

The Minsk-based Independent Institute of Socioeconomic and Political Studies (NISEPI) studied some aspects of the everyday family life of Belarusians in a June survey and tried to correlate aspects of their lives to the respondents' political preferences and social status.

Analysis: Abusing The Voter, Misusing The State

Ukraine's parliament building A pensioner in Ukraine recently reported that she was forced to sign a nomination list for pro-government presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych in order to receive her monthly pension. In the early days of the presidential-election campaign, such abuses of state power are already quite common.

Analysis: Yushchenko Vows 'People's Election Campaign' In Ukraine

Speaking on Radio Liberty on 3 August, Oleksandr Zinchenko, the manager of Our Ukraine leader Viktor Yushchenko's presidential campaign, said this campaign will be different from that of his main rival, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.

Analysis: Belarusian Sports Minister Banned From Entering Greece Over Disappearances

Last week, Greek authorities banned Belarusian Sports Minister Yury Sivakou, who is due to lead Belarus's delegation to the Summer Olympic Games from 11-29 August, from entering Greece. The ban was agreed to by all EU members and is based on Sivakou's alleged involvement in the disappearance of three opposition politicians and a journalist in Minsk. The current Dutch EU Presidency said on 6 August that Sivakou's presence in Athens would be "completely inappropriate." The ban is linked to a grim story of the disappearances of opponents of President Alyaksandr Lukasehnka's regime in Belarus.

Analysis: Belarusian Opposition Prepares For Parliamentary Election

Does the opposition have a chance against President Lukashenka? The opposition parties constituting the Popular Coalition Five Plus -- the Belarusian Popular Front, the Belarusian Party of Labor, the United Civic Party, the Belarusian Social Democratic Assembly, and the Belarusian Party of Communists (PKB) -- are going to ensure that their common candidate is on the ballot in each of the country's 110 districts for the 17 October legislative elections. PKB leader Syarhey Kalyakin told journalists on 15 July that Five Plus will field two candidates in each district so that the first-choice nominee can be replaced by the back-up one if needed. According to Kalyakin, the coalition's parties will not have any candidate quotas, and nominees will be selected solely on the basis of their popularity in each particular district.

Analysis: Ukrainian Oligarchic Parties Back Premier's Presidential Bid

Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych was proposed as a joint presidential candidate of the pro-government majority in the Verkhovna Rada in mid-April, shortly after this majority failed to pass a constitutional-reform bill intended to limit the prerogatives of the president and expand those of the prime minister and the legislature.

Analysis: Lukashenka Slams Opponents On Independence Day

Belarus on 3 July celebrated the 60th anniversary of the country's liberation from Nazi occupation. The date of 3 July, in line with a relevant result of the controversial 1996 referendum, is also Belarus's Independence Day.

Analysis: European Elections In Poland -- Everybody's Happy, For Now

On 13 June, Poles took part in their first elections to the European Parliament (EP) for the recently expanded European Union. Eight political parties cleared the 5 percent voting threshold, thus obtaining the right to participate in the distribution of 54 mandates ascribed to Poland. Turnout in the Polish ballot, 20.87 percent, was the second-lowest in the EU, after Slovakia.

Analysis: Does Arrest Of Former Minister Signal A Major Political Campaign?

Prague, 12 May 2004 (RFE/RL) -- Belarus's State Security Committee (KGB) on 26 April arrested Mikhail Marynich, a former cabinet member and diplomat, who switched to the opposition before the 2001 presidential election. The KGB informed the media the following day that it has instituted criminal proceedings against Marynich, accusing him of illegal possession of classified government documents and two unregistered foreign-made pistols. The KGB also claimed to have seized more than $90,000 in cash from Marynich.

The End Of Russian-Language Broadcasting In Ukraine?

Supporters of the Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists Ukraine's National Council for Television and Radio (NRPTR) on 14 April adopted an unexpected resolution that obliges all national and "interregional" (covering at least half of Ukraine's 25 regions) broadcasters to start broadcasting only in Ukrainian as of 19 April.

Ukraine: Kuchma's Re-Election Reflects A Vote Of Weariness

Belarus: OSCE Summit Disappoints Opposition

Belarus: Analysis -- There Is No Dialogue With The Opposition

Belarus: President Striving For Union With Russia

Belarus: Opposition Put On Defensive By Kosovo

Belarus: Opposition Wants Elections This Year

Belarus: Mounting Economic Troubles Force Changes In Policy

Poland: Difficulties Arise In Continuing Radical Reforms

Belarus: A Nation Fights For Food