The Light of Kailasa is a Hindu movement originally from Belarus. It is a part of the Saivite movement. [1] It was banned by government authorities in Belarus.
In 2002, the main activists of the movement — Tatiana Akadanova (now in USA as refugee), Sergei Akadanov (now in USA as refugee) and Sergei Olisevich — were sentenced to prison terms. [2] Hindu activists Sergei Romanchik, Tatiana Zhilevich, Sergei Silybins, Irina Silybins, Igor Yusupov and Irina Golovina were also imprisoned. In 2003 group leader Natalya Solovyova and other followers were attacked by police. [3] Many of the followers were imprisoned, while the rest fled to USA and other countries. Now there is no organized activity of this movement in Belarus.
Zubr was a civic youth organization of the Belarusian opposition, formerly active in protests against President Alexander Lukashenko. The organization drew inspiration from Otpor! student movement which contributed to the overthrow of Slobodan Milošević in 2000, and from Gene Sharp's writings on nonviolent action. Zubr became noticed internationally in 2005 when US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who was visiting Lithuania, met their leaders, who risked imprisonment upon their return. Some reporters have credited Zubr's leaders with the idea of a 'Denim Revolution', which, they hoped would attract popular support as Ukraine's Orange Revolution and Georgia's Rose Revolution. However, Lukashenko had said that "In our country, there will be no pink or orange, nor even a banana revolution".
The Belarusian Social Democratic Party (People's Assembly) (Belarusian: Беларуская сацыял-дэмакратычная партыя (Народная Грамада), romanized: Bielaruskaja Sacyjal-Demakratyčnaja Partyja (Narodnaja Hramada); Russian: Белорусская социал-демократическая партия (Народная Грамада), romanized: Belorusskaya sotsial-demokraticheskaya partiya (Narodnaya Gramada)) is an unregistered social-democratic political party in Belarus that opposes the administration of President Alexander Lukashenko.
Charter 97 is a declaration calling for democracy in Belarus and a pro-human rights news site taking its inspiration from the declaration.
Presidential elections were held in Belarus on 19 March 2006. The result was a victory for incumbent, President Alexander Lukashenko, who received 84.4% of the vote. However, Western observers deemed the elections rigged. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) declared that the election "failed to meet OSCE commitments for democratic elections". In contrast, election observers from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) described the vote as open and transparent.
Hinduism in Belarus has a very small following. There are three main Hindu groups in the country: ISKCON, Brahmakumaris and The Light of Kailasa. ISKCON is under severe pressure from Alexander Lukashenko's government, and The Light of Kailasa is banned altogether.
Hinduism in Kazakhstan is represented mainly by the ISKCON followers and by expatriate Hindus from India. The Census in Kazhakhstan doesn't recognize Hinduism. According to an estimate, there are about 500 Hare Krishna devotees in Kazakhstan. There were about 801 Hindus in Kazakhstan in 2010 according to ARDA. As of 2020, there were about 1878 Hindus in Kazakhstan.
Mutual relations between the Republic of Belarus and the European Union (EU) were initially established after the European Economic Community recognised Belarusian independence in 1991.
Siarhei Mikalayevich Skrabets is a Belarusian politician and the public figure. He was deputy of the House of Representatives of Belarus in the second election, floor leader of the opposition parliament group Republiс, leader of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Svaboda), chairman of the commission of penology of Belarusian Helsinki Committee, and a participant of the presidential election in 2001 and 2006.
Iryna Khalip is a Belarusian journalist, reporter and editor in the Minsk bureau of Novaya Gazeta, known for her criticism of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
MikolaViktaravich Statkevich is a Belarusian lieutenant colonel, politician, and opposition leader who was a presidential candidate at the 2010 Belarusian presidential election. Since 31 May 2020 he is held in prison by Belarusian authorities. Viasna Human Rights Centre recognized him as a political prisoner. On 14 December 2021, Statkevich was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Andrzej Poczobut is a Belarusian and Polish journalist and activist of the Polish minority in Belarus. He lives in Hrodna, Belarus.
The Belarusian opposition consists of groups and individuals in Belarus seeking to challenge, from 1988 to 1991, the authorities of Soviet Belarus, and since 1995, the leader of the country Alexander Lukashenko, whom supporters of the movement often consider to be a dictator. Supporters of the movement tend to call for a parliamentary democracy based on a Western model, with freedom of speech and political and religious pluralism.
Irina Kotova is a Belarusian-French painter and graphic artist.
Siarhei Kavalenka is a Belarusian political activist and member of the Conservative Christian Party sentenced for 2 years in prison after placing a white-red-white flag on top of a Christmas tree in Vitsebsk in 2010.
Nasta Palazhanka (Dashkevich) (Belarusian: Наста Палажанка, romanized: Nasta Pałažanka; born 1990) is an activist in the opposition youth movement in Belarus, which she joined at the age of 14. As of 2011 she is Deputy Chairperson of the Malady Front (Young Front), an NGO in Belarus. She has advocated for freedom and human rights in Belarus despite threats, harassment, and imprisonment.
The 2010 Belarusian protests were mass protest actions in Belarus against the results of the 2010 Belarusian presidential election, which took place on December 19, 2010 and were brutally dispersed. Between 10,000 and 60,000 people took part in the protest on October Square and Independence Square in Minsk. It was announced that a people's movement for free elections would be created without Lukashenka. Some participants tried to break into the Government House. Clashes with riot police took place. As a result, dozens of people were detained and beaten, including presidential candidates Khaklyaeu, Sannikov, Kastusyou, Statkevich, and Rymasheuski.
Ihar Alyaksandravich Losik is a Belarusian blogger and consultant of the Belarusian section of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Since June 25, 2020 he has been held in prison by Belarusian authorities. Viasna Human Rights Centre and Amnesty International recognize him as a political prisoner.
On 7 April 2022, Pavel Alexandrovich Pernikaŭ, a 30-year-old Belarusian human rights activist and Wikipedia editor, was sentenced to two years imprisonment for "discrediting the Republic of Belarus" by making two edits to Wikipedia about political repression in Belarus, and posting one article to the website of a human rights organization about torture and extra-judicial killings in Belarusian detention centers. Days after his imprisonment, he was recognized as a political prisoner by Belarusian human rights organizations.
Vladzimir Arkadyevich Astapenka is a Belarusian diplomat who was ambassador to Cuba, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Peru in the 2010s. Astapenka resigned in September 2020 in alignment with the 2020–2021 Belarusian protests that followed the 2020 Belarusian presidential election He was nominated to several positions in the Belarusian opposition, including Deputy Representative for Foreign Affairs of the Belarusian United Transitional Cabinet. and head of the Mission for Democratic Belarus in Brussels in October 2022.
Yuri Leonidovich Zenkovich is a Belarusian opposition politician, journalist and American lawyer. In 2003-2007 he was a deputy of the Minsk Regional Council of Deputies.
