Neighborhood in Minsk built for the workers of the tractor plant became a site of creation of soviet man. Architecture of socialist realism itself played a positive role: it played in tune with postwar longing for peaceful life in privacy, with family with comfortable structure of enclosed blocks, and at the same time created a background and scenery of life that elevated man through classicist image. Village youth came to the site driven by the postwar hunger and need to reconstruct their lives together with the country. They became workers, appropriated shop floor practice and were life-long recipients of the soviet distribution system that included housing as the main resource. People learned to live and work for future, "when communism arrives", withdrawing to privacy from the slogans, not paying attention to the latter but in that very moment rejecting the sphere of public life its real power, denying possibility to change.

In today's globalized world it is nearly impossible for countries to act independently without some degree of cooperation. It is even more diffult for countries with high levels of dependence. Dependence in Belarus on others influences its foreign policy in a way that inhibits Belarus' power. The degree of dependence, power, and interdependence in Belarus is analyzed by looking at its level of participation in international organizations, trade partners, and reliance on foreign aid. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

Securitization of an Imaginary Threat as an Authoritarian Legitimation Instrument: The Cases of Belarus and Uzbekistan. July 2021 GUID: 2458329A DCU ID: 19108281 CU ID: 22199053 Presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the 
 Degree of International Master in Security, Intelligence and Strategic Studies Word Count: 22 451 Supervisor: Donnacha Ó Beacháin Date of Submission: 31.07.2021 Abstract This research explores how the securitization of imaginary and exaggerated threats is used as a legitimation instrument in hegemonic authoritarian regimes. Approaching the task through the cases studies, this thesis will situate the securitization practice within the performance mechanism of authoritarian legitimation and apply it in two hegemonic autocratic regimes - Uzbekistan of Islam Karimov and Belarus of Alexander Lukashenko. This dissertation picks qualitative research design. Methodologically, discourse and content analysis will be used to test the theory that will be developed in this project. The arguments presented in the thesis draw upon the primary sources such as speeches, official statements, and memoirs. The dissertation will also refer to the secondary sources in order to synthesise arguments provided by the existing literature related to the issue in question. This research project...

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於1991年底蘇聯解體後正式獨立的白俄羅斯共和國，其與俄羅斯之間特殊的地緣政治因素、經濟上的依存關係、相近的種族文化與歷史傳統，促使兩國建立相較於獨立國家國協（Содружество Независимых Государств, СНГ/ Commonwealth of Independent States, CIS）更為緊密的政治、經濟、軍事、外交組織，亦即使兩國走向整合的白俄羅斯─俄羅斯聯盟（Союз Беларуси и России/ Union State of Russia and Belarus）。自1996年4月始，時任白俄羅斯總統的盧卡申科（Лукашенко, Александр Григорьевич, Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko）與前俄羅斯總統葉爾欽（Ельцин, Борис Николаевич, Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin），就俄白聯盟簽署一系列協議，諸如《俄白共同體組織條約》（Договор об образовании Сообщества Беларуси и России）、《俄白聯盟條約》（Договор о Союзе Беларуси и России）、《關於進一步整合宣言》（Декларация о дальнейшем единении России и Беларуси）、《兩國公民權利平等條約》（Договор между Российской Федерацией и Республикой Беларусь о равных правах граждан）、《建立國家聯盟經濟共同體協議》（Соглашение о создании равных условий субъектам хозяйствования государств-союзников）和《建立聯盟國家條約》（Договор о создании Союзного государства）等，朝俄白整合目標邁進的條約。 然俄白聯盟自成立之初至今，負面批評不斷，且除了在軍事同盟上兩國具有較為成功的碩果外，其他領域均無突破性的進展。此外，俄白雙方兩次的油氣之爭與白俄羅斯兩次經濟危機俄羅斯態度不明的事件，使俄白整合蒙上陰影。另一方面，歐盟與北約的東擴，明顯以白俄羅斯、烏克蘭與喬治亞等前蘇聯衛星國為主要拉攏目標，在此國際因素影響下，如何解釋俄白雙方政府仍決定繼續俄白聯盟，是為此論文關注的焦點，並試圖以新古典現實主義的角度，由個案研究的途徑，分析解釋並預測俄白聯盟的發展。 / After the Soviet Union disintegrated, post-communist countries in East-Central Europe were either divided (the USSR, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia) or were reunited (the German Democratic Republic with Federal Republic of Germany). Meanwhile, these countries developed different patterns of association. Some of the newly independent states joined the European Union and NATO, while others formed the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) at the collapse of the USSR. Six of the former Soviet member states established the Collective Security Organization. Five of them established the Eurasian Economic Community. Four of them—Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine—formed the Single Economic Space. Among these nations, Belarus and Russia have built the closet relationship, first with a “Community” and then a “Union” in 1997. Belarus sits between Europe and Russia, but history shows its ambiguous leaning towards the latter. The country had been incorporated in the Russian Empire for two hundred years, and later also in the USSR. Belarus was also the Slavic republic that supported the USSR the most its the referendum on a “renewed union” held in March 1991. Furthermore, the referendum in November 1996 reconfirms the Russia-leaned stand of Belarus, which differs from other former Soviet member states in Middle-East Europe. Despite conflicts between the two countries and the political advancement from the West, Belarus and Russia still tend to compose Belarus-Russia Union on international platforms. This research focuses upon several analytic factors from the viewpoint of Neoclassical Realism, including ethnology, culture, geopolitics, economy, security, political interests, international environment, and leadership factors to examine the relationship between Belarus and Russia.

Russo-Belarus Unification. Chosen Problems and perspectives of Union State (1999-2008). The main subject of the diploma thesis is cooperation between Russia and Belarus within the Union State of Russia and Belarus, which was established in 1999. After the break up of the USSR, cooperation between the newly independent states was largely defined by their membership in CIS. However, during the first five years an integration core emerged, consisting of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. These states were mainly cooperating in economic sphere, which finally emerged into international organization (Eurasian Economic Community). Belarus is one of the former Soviet republics, which kept and is still keeping very close relations with Russian Federation. Their bilateral integration begins after the breakup of USSR and culminates in 1999, when treaty of establishing Union State of Russia and Belarus is signed. During the almost 10 year period between 1999 and 2008, however, the cooperation did not move forward as was originally planned. In my opinion, the main topics which delay effective Russo-Belarus integration are as follows: prices for energetic commodities (oil and gas) for Belarus; implementation of common currency - Russian ruble; and ratification of Constitutional Act of Union State....

The purpose of the paper is to study whether there are any democratic tendencies in Belarus. The question that the paper intends to answer is, are there any signs of democracy in Belarus. The paper is based on a qualitative case study where the paper is assessed with Juan J Linz and Alfred Stepans (1996) theory about five interactive arenas where they explain how a democracy is consolidated. The five arenas are Civil society, Political society, Rule of law, State apparatus and Economic society. Regarding the result, this study has shown that Belarus has a very low grade of democracy tendencies in every arena and much of that because the president Aleksandr Lukasjenko’s undemocratic authoritarian regime. Only in the economic arena there are some small democracy tendencies. The conclusion is that Belarus won’t make required democratic changes as long as Lukasjenko rules the country.

<p>This book examines and analyses the Union between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Sweden signed in 1655 at Kėdainiai and the political crisis that followed. The union was a result of strong separatist dreams among the Lithuanian-Ruthenian Protestant elite led by the Radziwiłł family, and if implemented it would radically change the balance of power in the Baltic Sea region. The main legal point of the Union was the breach of Lithuanian federation with Poland and the establishment of a federation with Sweden. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania aspired to return to international relations as a self-governing subject. The Union meant a new Scandinavian alternative to Polish and Russian domination. The author places the events in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the general crisis that occurred in Europe in the middle of the 17th century characterized by a great number of wars, rebellions and civil wars from Portugal to Ukraine, and which builds the background to the crisis for Lithuania and Sweden. The research proved the importance of lesser powers in changing the geopolitical balance between the Great Powers. The conflict over Lithuania and Belarus was the main reason for the Swedish-Russian, Polish-Russian and Ukrainian-Russian wars. The failure of the Union with Sweden was caused by both internal and external factors. Internally, various ethnic, confessional and political groups within the nobility of Lithuania were split in favour of different foreign powers – from Muscovy to Transylvania. The external cause for the failure of the Union project was the failure of Swedish strategy. Sweden concentrated its activity to Poland, not to Lithuania. After the Union, Swedish authorities treated the Grand Duchy as an invaded country, not an equal. The Swedish administration introduced heavy taxation and was unable to control the brutality of the army. As a result Sweden was defeated in both Lithuania and Poland. Among the different economic, political and religious explanations of the general crisis, the case of Lithuania shows the importance of the political conflicts. For the separatists of Lithuania the main motive to turn against Poland and to promote alliance with Sweden, Russia or the Cossacks was the inability of Poland to shield the Grand Duchy from a Russian invasion.The Lithuanian case was a provincial rebellion led by the native nobility against their monarch, based on tradition of the previous independence and statehood period. It was not nationalism in its modern meaning, but instead a crisis of identity in the form of a conflict between Patria and Central Power. However, the cost of being a part of Sweden or Muscovy was greater than the benefit of political protection. Therefore, the pro-Polish orientation prevailed when Poland after 1658 recovered its military ability the local nobility regrouped around Warsaw. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania managed to remain on the political map of Europe, but at the price of general religious Catholization and cultural Polonization. After the crisis, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania gradually changed into a deep province of the Polish state.</p>

This study aims to account for the high degree of influence and intensity displayed in bi-lateral relations between Russia and the other post-Soviet states - specifically Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan (BUK.) It seeks to do so by employing an analytical framework based around the concept of 'post-Imperialism,' arguing that persistent legacies of the imperial past have both ensured a high degree of intensity in bilateral relationships as well as providing pathways of influence over certain policy areas - primarily for Russia, but in some instances for BUK as well. It also seeks to examine imperial legacy issues as distinct 'types' - from physical economic and military infrastructure, to cross-border constellations of elite personnel to the normative and cognitive inheritances of imperialism amongst both the elite and the population at large. It concludes that Russia has been able to mobilise and employ power resources not available to alternative actors in order to 'punch above its weight' when competing with other powers for influence in the post-Soviet space, and preserve certain Soviet era patterns of relations. It is not the focus of this study, but it is to be hoped that the framework will prove useful for researchers in other former imperial polities in future.

RESUMÉ THE PERFORMANCE OF A LEGAL PROFESSION (THE BAR) IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC AND IN BELARUS The aim of this thesis is to characterize the practice of law in the Czech Republic and Belarus. This theme was chosen because of the comparison of advocacy in both countries and also because of the limited number of literature sources about law practices and advocacy organization in Belarus, to at least briefly cover the operation of this Institute from the very beginning. Czech Republic and Belarus are democratic countries. Czech Republic is a parliamentary form of government. According to the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus (1994) it is a presidential republic, with strong centralization of legislative, executive and judicial power in the hands of the president, as evidenced by presidential decrees, which significantly affects the advocacy activities and organization in Belarus. A common feature of both countries is the nature of the mission of advocacy - providing skilled and professional legal assistance in accordance with the law; serving the principles of legality and justice. This thesis is systematically divided into individual chapters. The first chapter defines the key terms related to the Advocacy Institute and the right to legal assistance in general. The second chapter is devoted to the...