Internship
Analysing international policy processes and Lithuania’s role in them
Internship
Review Mar 21, 2022

Trends in Belarus 2022-1

Dorota Sokolovska
Andrius Prochorenko
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Key highlights:

  • The Belarusian army is strongly opposed to military involvement in Ukraine, and its commanders are keen to avoid sending ground troops to Ukraine.
  • The new Belarusian constitution abolishes Belarus’ status as a neutral state and creates new mechanisms to allow Alexander Lukashenko to retain power even after his presidential term ends.
  • The crisis of illegal migration has been contained and is no longer a priority on Lithuania’s security agenda, but cases of illegal migration at the border with Belarus are still being recorded.
  • The new sanctions packages imposed on Russia and Belarus are expected to trigger an economic recession in these countries.
  • Belarus is increasingly restricting freedom of expression and media freedom by banning alternative sources of information and the ability to speak out on the war in Ukraine.
Dorota Sokolovska

Dorota Sokolovska is a project manager at the Eastern Europe Studies Centre, she joined the team in July 2021. She is leading a project to strengthen civil society in Belarus. Dorota also contributes to analytical content and has authored several studies on security and international relations. She has several years of professional experience in journalism. Dorota is currently studying at the Institute of International Relations and Political Science at Vilnius University, where she is interested in political philosophy and history of ideas.

Andrius Prochorenko

Andrius Prochorenko has been working at the EESC since the year 2017. He is a graduate of the Vilnius University’s Institute of International Relations and Political Science, holds a Masters degree in Public Policy Analysis. Andrius is interested in the political economy and is responsible for the implementation of international projects related to hybrid threats, information warfare, and the development of Eastern Partnership countries, as well as the drafting of project applications and reports. He also contributes to the organizing of high-level political events and conferences, the implementation of other national and international projects, he is also a co-author of academic studies and is fluent in English and Russian.