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Download this reportBelarus
Inside this issue
• Relations with Russia are testy and overtures to the west tentative
• Over-production and state aid have held off recession but could lead to problems ahead
• Russian high-rollers beat a path to Minsk after a gambling ban - -
Content
A delicate balance between east and west
Change is a dangerous thing for an autocrat, and Belarus’s Alexander Lukashenko is being buffeted by demands for just that as he tries to steer his country through the economic crisis and strained ties with Russia without losing control.
Soviet model may face trouble despite weathering the crisis
Belarus has only been dealt a passing blow by the global economic crisis, but its method of fighting recession has stored up big problems for next year.
Tractors plough a lonely furrow
Think Finland and a snappy Nokia phone may come to mind, while Switzerland is linked to chocolates and banks. In the case of Belarus, the association is heavy machinery – rugged trucks and tractors.
Russian high-rollers beat a path to Minsk after gambling ban
Belarus may not have been a prime destination for foreign investors over the past year, but there has been an unexpected source of capital from Russia: casino owners fleeing gambling restrictions imposed by the Russian government.
Coke fizzes on the investment trail
The dust had barely settled from the chaotic collapse of the Soviet Union in 1992, when Coca-Cola was setting up shop in Belarus
