From sanctions to summits: Belarus after the Ukraine crisis

Belarus is concerned by Russian actions in Ukraine and is trying to distance itself from Russia, including by not recognising the annexation of Crimea and calling for a peacekeeping mission. It is also suffering the effects of Russia’s economic downturn. President Lukashenka has taken steps to promote the Belarusian language and identity to counter Russian influence. But he is not moving towards greater engagement with the political opposition. The Ukraine crisis has reinforced the risk-averse instincts of the Belarusian people and reduced the likelihood of protests tied to elections scheduled for this year. Minsk is not likely to shift from its broadly proRussian orientation, but it has made tentative diplomatic overtures to the EU. The EU’s pro-democracy sanctions policy toward Belarus has failed to promote political reform and arguably pushed Belarus closer to Russia. Now the EU has to focus not just on fostering democracy but on strengthening Belarusian society, which will help European interests in the long term. The EU should aim to help Belarus with a modernised form of nation building, engaging with civil society, offering assistance on economic reform, lowering the visa barrier, promoting knowledge of the EU and countering Russian propaganda

New urban settlements in Belarus: some trends and changes

The modern urban settlement system of Belarus and Russia is under the influence of European social-economic and political transformational processes. This paper presents and discusses some new trends and changes of this development. In Belarus a number of small urban settlements and residential areas in cities have been built for civil representatives of military contingents which left Central and Eastern European countries. Besides that it was done to take off a tension in housing problem in the Armed forces. These residential areas were built with participation of different Byelorussian and foreign building firms and German financing (1,4 billions DM). It is characterized by high quality of housing, service, engineering and transport infrastructure. Plots of land for residential areas location were defined with Institute for Regional and Urban Planning participation according to the master-plans of cities with idea of habitat improving. Planning projects of the districts were made through tenders. Totally seven residential areas for civil representatives of military contingents were built in Belarus: in Borisov and Maryina Gorka (Minsk Oblast), in Baranovichi and Beryoza (Brest Oblast), in Lida, Slonim and Ross (Grodno Oblast). There are over 5900 flats (with a total dwelling space of over 360.000 sq. m). Such residential areas were built in Russia as well (for example in Elnya, Smolensk Oblast). However there are some problems in social sphere and a limit of labour market and as a result there is high rate of unemployment. Using the patterns of several residential areas in Belarus and in Russia some modern social-economic problems of mentioned residential areas and ways of their solutions are showed in the report. The situation in the field of the development of new urban settlements in Belarus and in Russia requires, in principle, a continually monitoring as well as an subsequent investigation and evaluation. Key words: Belarus, Russia, urban settlement system, master plans, residential areas.

Чеснок и крапива в традиционной медицине Белорусов: семантический и культурно-сравнительный анализ

GARLIC AND BROWN IN TRADITIONAL MEDICINE OF BELARUS: SEMANTIC AND CULTURAL-COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS YINLING ZHANGИсследуются символическое и утилитарное значения чеснока и крапивы в народной медицине белорусов. Отмечено, что в мифологической картине мира белорусов статус данных растений и их лечебные свойства тесно взаимосвязаны. Приведены этнокультурные параллели с традициями китайской народной медицины.= The article is to characterize the symbolic and practical significances of garlic and nettle in the traditional medicine of Belarus. The author comes to the conclusion that in the world view of Belarusians the mythological status of these plants and their curative properties were closely related. Cross-cultural, cross-national compari-sons are made between the traditions in Belarus and in China

Epidemiology, education, and care for patients with diabetes in Belarus

More than 64 million people in the World Health Organization European Region are living with diabetes, and Belarus is no exception to the diabetes epidemic. This study was conducted as a part of the Joint Usage/Research Projects program for promoting collaborative research in regions affected by environmental radiation exposure. We reviewed locally available documents on the epidemiology and management of diabetes in Belarus. Over the past 20 years, there has been a 2.8-fold increase in the number of patients with diabetes mellitus in Belarus, and in response, an integrated approach for prevention and treatment has been implemented. Strategies unique to Belarus include the establishment of a diabetes registry, the monitoring of patients at local outpatient units called dispensaries, and the upgrading of diabetes education provided at Diabetes Schools. Despite the strategic developments made to diabetes services, further improvements are warranted, including better quality assurance of services at dispensaries, revision of patient education to take into consideration new treatments and technologies, and more epidemiological research