Not long ago we wrote about a documentary movie ‘Lessons of Belarusian Language”. Back then, it was unavailable to viewers; however, thanks to comments from our readers we are happy to write that this movie is available on line! below is a recap of a blog and the movie itself. Radio Svaboda reports that First [...]

Couple years ago we publish two photo/video clips dedicated to Belarusian opposition movement. By no stretch of imagination we pretended to be big time movie directors, however, it was our take on the situation. However, judging by the comments, our modest video attempt was well received and many expressed interest to learn more about Belarus, [...]

Some things never change and these videos fully demonstrate it. Every single protest or opposition rally in Minsk ends up with news about police brutality. And this year is no different…

So, you want to graduate from a college in Uzbekistan? First, pass “Karimov Studies” class! Academic freedom issues The government limited academic freedom. Authorities often required department head approval for university lectures or lecture notes. Although authorities implemented the requirement inconsistently, university professors generally practiced self-censorship. Numerous university students reported that universities taught mandatory courses [...]

Academic freedom issues There were no reported government restrictions on academic freedom and cultural events.I find it hard to believe that there are no restrictions. Considering that Tajikistan is an isolated country without any international monitor groups or truly independent media it would be safe to assume that if there are any incidents they simply [...]

Here is an interesting twist, apparently, former President Niyazov’s poetry works are still necessary to learn in order to graduate in Turkmenistan. I am suprised that President Lukashenko didn’t follow the trend…yet. Academic freedom issues No master’s degrees or doctorates have been granted in the country since 1998. Government permission was required to study abroad [...]

Here is the same summary, notable is a number of hate crimes that took place. Academic freedom issues The government did not restrict academic freedom, but academic freedom was an underdeveloped and poorly understood concept. Most major universities were state owned; while university rectors had a degree of autonomy; curriculum and degree standards were tightly [...]

Just like in a previous post, here is some selected topics from the Human Rights Report published by the US Department of State. Academic freedom issues According to the report published by the U.S. Department of State the government did not restrict academic freedom; however, human rights and academic organizations questioned whether the convictions of [...]

The US Dpartment of State released its Human Rights Report for 2007. Below is a summary of some issues. By no means it is a detailed summary, however, as soon as I get more time all topics will be updated and expanded. Academic freedom issues: The government restricted academic freedom, in part by requiring educational [...]

The Captive Nations Parade has been conducted every third week in July for the past 48 years. This event has been held annually since 1959. When Congress designated the third week of July as a time to remember once-independent countries which are now under Soviet rule. The Captive Nations Committee and approximately 50 supporters—mostly from [...]