Belarusian Waltz a Film by Andrzej Fidyk
n o s a e 21 P.O .V. S Discussion Guide Belarusian Waltz A film by Andrzej Fidyk www.pbs.org/pov n o s Discussion Guide | Belarusian Waltz a e 21 S Table of Contents Credits, Acknowledgments 3 Introduction Writer 4 Background Information Faith Rogow, PhD 4 Belarus Insighters Educational Consulting 4 Location and History Research Editor 4 People Daniel McDermon 4 Economics Guide Producers, P.O.V. 5 Politics Eliza Licht 5 Holidays Director, Community Engagement and Education, P.O.V. 6 Alexander Lukashenko Jessica Lee 7 Alexander Pushkin Outreach and Development Coordinator, P.O.V. 8 Selected People Featured Irene Villaseñor in Belarusian Waltz Youth Views Manager, P.O.V. 9 General Discussion Questions Research Editor: Daniel McDermon 10 Discussion Prompts Design: Rafael Jiménez 11 Taking Action Copy Editor: Joan D. Saunders 13 Resources 15 How to Buy the Film Thanks to those who reviewed this guide: Andrzej Fidyk, Director, Belarusian Waltz Julia Homstad, University of Toronto, M.A., European, Russian and Eurasian Studies Bryce Kirchoff, Community Outreach Manager, Wisconsin Public Television © American Documentary, Inc. 2 n o s Discussion Guide | Belarusian Waltz a e 21 S Introduction Kupala Night. Belarus has been called “Europe’s last dictatorship.” Since Photo courtesy of Belarusian Waltz /Piraya Films 1994, Alexander Lukashenko has ruled the ex-Soviet republic with a despotic hand, jailing the opposition, shutting down the press and refusing to investigate the assassinations of dissidents. Though he has virtually silenced his critics, one a dictatorship. An introduction to Belarus might sound like a performance artist manages to stage public stunts mocking the Rod Serling voiceover: “a country inhabiting a twilight realm dictator’s pretensions.
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