DOCSLIB.ORG

Eastern Europe

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Eastern Europe U.S. ONLINE TRAINING FOR OSCE, INCLUDING REACT Module 4 Eastern Europe This module is designed to introduce you to the work of OSCE field missions in eastern Europe. The module focuses on the work of the OSCE in: • Belarus (OSCE Office in Minsk closed in 2011) • Ukraine • Moldova 1 Table of Contents Belarus. 3 Key information. 4 Historical background. 6 Before Russian rule. 7 Under Russian and Soviet rule. 8 From Perestroika to independence. 9 Domestic politics. 10 Elections. 11 The economy. 16 Ethnic relations. 17 Foreign relations. 19 Russia. 20 CIS. 23 Eurasian Economic Community. 24 The West. 25 EU. 26 OSCE. 27 Ukraine. 29 Key information. 30 Regions and Culture of Ukraine . 32 Historical background. 39 Before Russian rule. 40 Under Russian and Soviet rule. 41 From Perestroika to independence. 43 Domestic politics. 45 Elections . 46 Challenges to Ukraine’s democracy. 62 Crimea. 65 Foreign relations. 72 Russia. 73 The West, including NATO and EU. 77 Ethnic relations. 83 Conflict with Pro-Russian Separatists . 85 Conflict overview. 86 International involvement in the conflict. 91 Moldova. 95 Key information. 96 Historical background. 98 Before Russian rule. 99 Under Soviet rule. 100 From Perestroika to independence. 102 Domestic politics. 103 Elections since independence. 104 The Gagauz conflict. 113 The “frozen” Transdniester conflict. 115 Foreign relations. 128 Russia. 129 MODULE 4 Eastern Europe 2 The West. 130 Romania. 132 Ethnic relations. 133 Is the Transdniester conflict an ethnic conflict?. 134 Right Bank Moldova. 135 Language policy. 136 Culture. 139 Countryside. 141 The Economy. 142 Folk traditions. 143 Cuisine. 144 MODULE 4 Eastern Europe 3 CHAPTER 1 Belarus Belarus is a sovereign state in Eastern Europe that was formerly part of the Soviet Union. This chapter contains the following sections that describe Belarus: • Key information • Historical background • Domestic politics • Foreign relations MODULE 4 Eastern Europe 3 CHAPTER 1 Belarus Key information Geography Item Description Area 81,000 square miles Natural resources Potatoes, grains, flax, and sugar beet are grown. There are no significant natural resources apart from wood and peat, the main local source of fuel. People Item Description Population 9.626 million (2013 est.) Ethnic groups Belarusians 84%, Russians 8%, Poles 3%, Ukrainians 2%, others 3%. People in the southern area of Belarus with a mixed Belarusian-Ukrainian identity and dialect are called Poleshchuks. Religions Eastern Orthodox 80%, other (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 20% (1997 est.) Languages The Belarusian language belongs to the eastern branch of the Slavic group of the Indo-European family of languages. It is written in an adapted form of the Cyrillic script that is used for Russian. Although the official state language is Belarusian, the language in most common use is Russian. Government Item Description Capital Minsk Type Presidential republic System of In formal terms, Belarus has evolved from a parliamentary into a government presidential republic. In practice, the political system is a presidential dictatorship with a strructural democratic veneer. Head of state Alexander Lukashenko (1994-present) MODULE 4 Eastern Europe 4 CHAPTER 1 Belarus Item Description Currency Belarusian Ruble MODULE 4 Eastern Europe 5 CHAPTER 1 Belarus Historical background This section describes the historical background of Belarus: • Before Russian rule • Under Russian and Soviet rule • From Perestroika to independence MODULE 4 Eastern Europe 6 CHAPTER 1 Belarus Before Russian rule From 1386 to 1569, Belarus was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, a large multi-ethnic state that stretched from the Baltics to what is now western Ukraine. Its official language was Belarusian. Despite its name, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania is regarded as a precursor of present-day Belarus. Belarus’ flag and emblem are based on those of the Grand Duchy. Belarus absorbed into the Kingdom of Poland In 1569, the Grand Duchy was absorbed into the Kingdom of Poland. As a result, Belarus came under strong Polish influence. In the 17th century, Poland fought for control of Belarus against an expanding Russia. In 1795 Poland was divided between Russia, Prussia, and Austria; and Belarus was incorporated into the Russian Empire. Belarusian republic established Intellectuals in Belarus started to think of themselves as belonging to a Belarusian nation in the mid-nineteenth century. However, the Russian government suppressed expression of Belarusian.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • President Alexander Lukashenko Office of President of the Republic of Belarus Email: Contact@President.Gov.By Fax: +375 17 226 06 10
    President Alexander Lukashenko Office of President of the Republic of Belarus Email: contact@president.gov.by Fax: +375 17 226 06 10 Alexander Vladimirovich Koniuk Prosecutor General of the Republic of Belarus E-mail: info@prokuratura.gov.by Fax: +375 17 226 42 52 Alexander Bileychik First Deputy Minister Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus E-mail: kanc@minjust.by Fax: +375 17 200 96 84, +375 17 200 97 50 24 November 2011 Call for immediate release and rehabilitation of Ales Bialiatski We, the undersigned 64 human rights organizations, members and partners of the Human Rights House Network, resolutely condemn the court verdict to sentence Ales Bialiatski to 4,5 years imprisonment with confiscation of his property. We call upon the Belarusian authorities to immediately drop all charges against Ales Bialiatski and stop his criminal prosecution. On Thursday, 24 November 2011, the Minsk Pershamaiski District Court announced its verdict to sentence Ales Bialiatski to 4,5 years imprisonment with the confiscation of all his property, including property registered to other persons, on charges of tax evasion. Ales Bialiatski is the Chairperson of the Human Rights Centre “Viansa”, Vice-President of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and one of the founders of the Belarusian Human Rights House in Vilnius. He is a well-known and internationally recognised human rights defender. On 4 August 2011, Ales Bialiatski was detained in Minsk on alleged suspicion of ‘concealment of income on an especially large scale’. His trial started on 2 November and was widely condemned by the international community.
    [Show full text]
  • Wrong Kind of Victim? One Year On: an Analysis of UK Measures to Protect Trafficked Persons
    Northern Ireland Supriya Begum, 45 South Asia trafficked for domestic servitude Scotland Abiamu Omotoso, 20 West Africa trafficked for sexual exploitation Aberdeen▪ Stirling▪ ▪ Glasgow Dumfries ▪Londonderry ▪ /Derry ▪ Belfast Leeds ▪ Blackpool ▪ Conwy ▪ Manchester Anglesey ▪ ▪Liverpool ▪ Sheffield London Wales Swansea Newport ▪ Cardiff Slough ▪▪ Bristol ▪ Mikelis Ðíçle, 38 Bridgend▪ ▪ ▪ Dover▪ Latvia ▪Portsmouth trafficked for Torquay forced labour ▪ England Tuan Minh Sangree,16 Vietnam trafficked for forced labour in cannabis farms Wrong kind of victim? One year on: an analysis of UK measures to protect trafficked persons. June 2010 Front Cover The cases on the cover refer to real cases of trafficked persons identified in the course of the research for this report. The names were changed and ages approximated to protect the identity of these individuals. The places indicated on the map are examples of some of the locations where cases of trafficking were identified in the course of the research for this report. This is by no means an exhaustive list. This report has been produced by the Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group with Mike Dottridge Researcher: Lorena Arocha Coordinator: Rebecca Wallace Design and layout: Jakub Sobik ISBN: 978-0-900918-76-6 © Anti-Slavery International for the Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group Acknowledgements This report has been made possible due to the information and advice provided by the Members of the Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group and a variety of individuals, organisations and agencies across the UK and beyond who have shared their experience of working with trafficked persons. The Monitoring Group works closely with the Anti-Trafficking Legal Project (ATLeP). Contributions were received under the agreement that names of individuals and organisations would not be cited unless specifically requested.
    [Show full text]
  • The Small States and the OSCE Anselm Skuhra
    In: IFSH (ed.), OSCE Yearbook 1999, Baden-Baden 2000, pp. 153-164. Anselm Skuhra The Small States and the OSCE1 Definition of OSCE "Small States" Small states do not constitute a self-declared group within the OSCE. Any criterion for distinguishing them from medium-sized or large states is hard to come up with and more or less arbitrary. One possibility is to use population. A limit of 100,000 residents, for example, would include only the so-called micro-states such as Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino and the Holy See.2 With a limit of 1,000,000 residents Iceland, Luxembourg, Malta and Cyprus would be added; two million would bring in Estonia and Slove- nia; three million Macedonia, Latvia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina; four mil- lion Albania, Armenia, Ireland and Lithuania. Thus a limit of one million residents would seem to make sense for an investigation devoted to small states of the OSCE, even though broader criteria are sometimes applied within the OSCE itself. This yields nine states for the purposes of this analysis, namely (listed by de- scending size of population - in thousands): Cyprus (860), Luxembourg (414), Malta (375), Iceland (278), Andorra (64), Monaco (30), Liechtenstein (28), San Marino (25), and the Holy See (or Vatican: 1).3 This represents 16.4 per cent of the total number of participating States but, with just over two million residents, only two thousandths of the total population of the OSCE. Therefore, along with the five micro-states cited, there are four others which with the exception of Luxembourg are all islands - Iceland, Malta and Cyprus.
    [Show full text]
  • The Belarusian Association of Journalists
    1 THE BELARUSIAN ASSOCIATION OF JOURNALISTS Info-posting No. 7-10 February 22 – March 28, 2010 March 2010 appeared to be as difficult for Belarusian journalistic community as the preceding months. Firstly, the Supreme Court of Belarus declined an appeal of Belarusian Association of Journalists against an official warning to the BAJ, issued by the Ministry of Justice of Belarus. "To charge a journalists' association with illegally issuing press cards is absurd and a blatant attack on freedom of association for journalists," said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. "It is clear that the government is putting legal shackles on the BAJ in response to its uncompromising campaign for media freedom and journalists' rights," he added. Secondly, the month was full of KGB and police searches and interrogations as well as other tools of pressure, applied in relation to journalists on behalf of law- enforcement agencies. Siarzhuk Sierabro, the Editor of “People’s News of Vitsiebsk” Web-site was interrogated again by police on February 22, 2010. The interrogation concerned a criminal case, filed against a civil activist Siarhei Kavalenka, who had placed a white-red-white national banner on the central Christmas tree in Vitsiebsk on January 7, 2010. Among other, a legal investigator of police department at Vitsiebsk Regional Executive Committee Andrei Baranau was interested if S. Sierabro had been aware of the civil protest action and if he had prepared beforehand for taking pictures of this event. Alaksandr Dzianisau, an independent journalist from Hrodna was accused of ‘self-will’ (article 23.39 of Belarusian Law on Administrative Torts) by police on February 23, 2010.
    [Show full text]
  • E-Journal, Year IX, Issue 176, October 1-31, 2011
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Policy Documentation Center Governance and democracy in Moldova e-journal, year IX, issue 176, October 1-31, 2011 "Governance and Democracy in Moldova" is a bi-weekly journal produced by the Association for Participatory Democracy ADEPT, which tackles the quality of governance and reflects the evolution of political and democratic processes in the Republic of Moldova. The publication is issued with financial support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, in framework of the project "Promoting Good Governance through Monitoring". Opinions expressed in the published articles do not necessarily represent also the point of view of the sponsor. The responsibility for the veracity of statements rests solely with the articles' authors. CONTENTS I. ACTIVITY OF PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS........................................................................................................ 3 GOVERNMENT ................................................................................................................................................ 3 1. Events of major importance ...................................................................................................................... 3 Premier’s report regarding assaults on share stocks of some banks ........................................................ 3 2. Nominations. Dismissals ..........................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • The Democratic Process: Promises and Challenges
    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 480 425 SO 035 277 AUTHOR Bragaw, Donald, Ed. TITLE The Democratic Process: Promises and Challenges. INSTITUTION Street Law, Inc., Washington, DC.; Social Science Education Consortium, Inc., Boulder, CO.; Council of Chief State School Officers, Washington, DC.; Constitutional Rights Foundation, Los Angeles, CA.; Constitutional Rights Foundation, Chicago, IL.; American Forum for Global Education, New York, NY. SPONS AGENCY Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC. ISBN ISBN-0-94467-73-5 PUB DATE 2003-00-00 NOTE 230p.; A Resource Guide produced for the Democracy Education Exchange Project (DEEP). CONTRACT R304A010002B AVAILABLE FROM American Forum for Global Education, 120 Wall Street, Suite 2600, New York, NY 10005. Tel: 212-624-1300; Fax: 212-624- 1412; e-mail: info@globaled.org; Web site: http://www.globaled.org/. For full text: http://www.globaled.org/ DemProcess.pdf. PUB TYPE Books (010) Collected Works General (020) -- Guides Classroom Teacher (052) EDRS PRICE EDRS Price MF01/PC10 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Democracy; *European History; Foreign Countries; *Geographic Regions; Global Education; Middle Schools; Secondary Education; Social Studies IDENTIFIERS *Europe (East) ABSTRACT When the Berlin Wall (East Germany) came down, it symbolically foretold the end of the Soviet Union domination of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. This resource guide examines the process toward democratization occurring in those regions. The guide updates the available classroom material on the democratic process. It is divided into three sections: (1) "Promises and Challenges" (contains five essays and nine lessons); (2) "Voices of Transition" (contains eight essays and eight lessons); and (3) "Fostering a Democratic Dialogue" (contains 3 essays and eight lessons) .Includes six maps.
    [Show full text]
  • (~L General Assembly Official Records .,Sixty -Eighth Session ~ 8 0 Th Plenary Meeting Thursday, 27 March 2014, 10 A.M
    United Nations A /68/ PV.80 (~l General Assembly Official Records .,Sixty -eighth session ~ 8 0 th plenary meeting Thursday, 27 March 2014, 10 a.m. New York President: Mr. Ashe . (Antigua and Barbuda) The meeting was called to order at JO.JO a.m. great honour and privilege for me to address the General Assembly. What has brought us here today is an issue Agenda item 138 (continued) of paramount importance. It is of crucial importance to my nation, of vital importance to every United Nations Scale of assessments for· the apportionment of the State Member and of even greater importance to the expenses of the United Nations United Nations and the world order it embodies. Note by the Secretuy-General (A/681716/Add.7) It has now been a month during which all The President: Before proceeding to the item on possible and impossible boundaries of international our agenda, I should like to inform members that, since law that had been so laboriously nourished by the issuance of document A/68/716/Add.6, Dominica humankind - especially under this institution - have has made the payment necessary to reduce its arrears been ruthlessly trampled. What has happened in my below the amount specified in Article 19 of the Charter. country is a direct violation of the Charter of the United That information will be reflected in document Nations. Many still struggle to grasp the reality that it A/68/716/Add.7 to be issued at a later date. happened in Ukraine, in the very heart of Europe. It happened in the twenty-first century.
    [Show full text]
  • No. 21 TRONDHEIM STUDIES on EAST EUROPEAN CULTURES
    No. 21 TRONDHEIM STUDIES ON EAST EUROPEAN CULTURES & SOCIETIES David R. Marples THE LUKASHENKA PHENOMENON Elections, Propaganda, and the Foundations of Political Authority in Belarus August 2007 David R. Marples is University Professor at the Department of History & Classics, and Director of the Stasiuk Program for the Study of Contemporary Ukraine of the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. His recent books include Heroes and Villains. Constructing National History in Contemporary Ukraine (2007), Prospects for Democracy in Belarus, co-edited with Joerg Forbrig and Pavol Demes (2006), The Collapse of the Soviet Union, 1985-1991(2004), and Motherland: Russia in the 20th Century (2002). © 2007 David R Marples and the Program on East European Cultures and Societies, a program of the Faculties of Arts and Social Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology. ISSN 1501-6684 ISBN 978-82-995792-1-6 Trondheim Studies on East European Cultures and Societies Editors: György Péteri and Sabrina P. Ramet Editorial Board: Trond Berge, Tanja Ellingsen, Knut Andreas Grimstad, Arne Halvorsen We encourage submissions to the Trondheim Studies on East European Cultures and Societies. Inclusion in the series will be based on anonymous review. Manuscripts are expected to be in English (exception is made for Norwegian Master’s and PhD theses) and not to exceed 150 double spaced pages in length. Postal address for submissions: Editor, Trondheim Studies on East European Cultures and Societies, Department of History, NTNU, NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway. For more information on PEECS and TSEECS, visit our web-site at http://www.hf.ntnu.no/peecs/home/ The photo on the cover is a copy of an item included in the photo chronicle of the demonstration of 21 July 2004 and made accessible by the Charter ’97 at http://www.charter97.org/index.phtml?sid=4&did=july21&lang=3 TRONDHEIM STUDIES ON EAST EUROPEAN CULTURES & SOCIETIES No.
    [Show full text]
  • OSW COMMENTARY NUMBER 168 1 European Integration (AIE)
    Centre for Eastern Studies NUMBER 168 | 22.04.2015 www.osw.waw.pl An appropriated state? Moldova’s uncertain prospects for modernisation Kamil Całus There have been several significant changes on Moldova’s domestic political scene in the wake of the November 2014 parliamentary elections there. Negotiations lasted nearly two months and re- sulted in the formation of a minority coalition composed of two groupings: the Liberal-Democratic Party (PLDM) and the Democratic Party (PDM). New coalition received unofficial support from the Communist Party (PCRM), which had previously been considered an opposition party. Contrary to their initial announcements, PDLM and PDM did not admit the Liberal Party led by Mihai Ghim- pu to power. Moreover, they blocked the nomination for prime minister of the incumbent, Iurie Leancă. Leancă has been perceived by many as an honest politician and a guarantor of reforms. This situation resulted in the political model present in Moldova since 2009 being preserved. In this model the state’s institutions are subordinated to two main oligarch politicians: Vlad Filat (the leader of PLDM) and Vlad Plahotniuc (a billionaire who de facto controls PDM). With control over the state in the hands of Filat and Plahotniuc questions are raised regarding the prospects of Moldova’s real modernisation. It will also have a negative impact on the process of implementation of Moldova’s Association Agreement with the EU and on other key reforms concerning, for example, the judiciary, the financial sector and the process of de-politicisation of the state’s institutions. From both leaders’ perspective, any changes to the current state of affairs would be tantamount to limiting their influence in politics and the economy, which would in turn challenge their business activities.
    [Show full text]
  • The Day the Bear Cowered: Russian Non-Intervention in the Baltics
    The Day the Bear Cowered: Russian Non-Intervention in the Baltics Haverford Political Science Senior Thesis by Ian Wheeler Under Advisement of Prof. Barak Mendelsohn Table of Contents 1. Introduction ..........................................................................................................................1 2. Literature Review.................................................................................................................4 3. International Relations Theory ..........................................................................................15 4. Military Intervention ..........................................................................................................18 5. Spheres of Influence ..........................................................................................................20 6. Incentives for Intervention .................................................................................................25 7. Hypotheses .........................................................................................................................28 8. Methodology ......................................................................................................................33 9. Moldova Case Study Overview .........................................................................................38 10. Moldova Hypothesis Testing .............................................................................................46 11. Georgia Case Study Overview ...........................................................................................54
    [Show full text]
  • Republic of Belarus
    August 1997 Vol. 9 No. 8 (D) REPUBLIC OF BELARUS CRUSHING CIVIL SOCIETY AWhat scares me most is to see how fragile our freedom turned out to be. I used to think that the freedom we had achieved would never be taken away from us again.@ Yury Drakokhurst, Belarusian journalist. SUMMARY.................................................................................................................................................................................3 RECOMMENDATIONS.............................................................................................................................................................4 A NOTE ON GEOGRAPHY AND DEMOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................6 BACKGROUND .........................................................................................................................................................................6 Weakening Parliament and the Judiciary.......................................................................................................................7 The Referendum..............................................................................................................................................7 Legislative Powers of the President.................................................................................................................8 The National Assembly (Parliament) ..............................................................................................................8
    [Show full text]
  • UNIVERSITY of BELGRADE FACULTY of POLITICAL SCIENCE Regional Master's Program in Peace Studies MASTER's THESIS Revisiting T
    UNIVERSITY OF BELGRADE FACULTY OF POLITICAL SCIENCE Regional Master’s Program in Peace Studies MASTER’S THESIS Revisiting the Orange Revolution and Euromaidan: Pro-Democracy Civil Disobedience in Ukraine Academic supervisor: Student: Associate Professor Marko Simendić Olga Vasilevich 9/18 Belgrade, 2020 1 Content Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………3 1. Theoretical section……………………………………………………………………………..9 1.1 Civil disobedience…………………………………………………………………………9 1.2 Civil society……………………………………………………………………………... 19 1.3 Nonviolence……………………………………………………………………………... 24 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………… 31 2. Analytical section……………………………………………………………………………..33 2.1 The framework for disobedience………………………………………………….…….. 33 2.2 Orange Revolution………………………………………………………………………. 40 2.3 Euromaidan……………………………………………………………………………… 47 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………… 59 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………… 62 References……………………………………………………………………………………….67 2 INTRODUCTION The Orange Revolution and the Revolution of Dignity have precipitated the ongoing Ukraine crisis. According to the United Nations Rights Office, the latter has claimed the lives of 13,000 people, including those of unarmed civilian population, and entailed 30,000 wounded (Miller 2019). The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees adds to that 1.5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), 100,000 refugees and asylum-seekers (UNHCR 2014). The armed conflict is of continued relevance to Russia, Europe, as well as the United States. During the first 10 months,
    [Show full text]