Top 4 Documentaries about Belarus

Intro: Documentaries about Belarus

Belarus is known for being the last dictatorship in Europe (Alexander Lukashenko). Belarus has the lowest unemployment rate in Europe, and no, it is not Russian territory.

1. Early Instruments of Belarus-Documentaries about Belarus

Belarus’ art music originates from the folk music of Eastern Slavs. Instrumental performance was an essential part of the cultural traditions of the Belarusian countryside. The most popular folk instruments were Duda, zhaleika, gudok, lyre, violin, and cimbalom.

Church music gained a lot of popularity in Belarus. Outstanding pieces of vocal and instrumental works, Polotsk Notebook and Chimes were created in the 15th-17th centuries.

In the 18th century, private theaters and chapels of magnates, including the Radziwills, the Sapiehas and the Oginskis, became the centres of cultural life. Among the famous composers of that time were Jan Holland, Arnost Vancura, Maciej Radziwill.

The most famous contemporary music groups include the Presidential Orchestra of the Republic of Belarus, the State Academic Symphony Orchestra, and the State Academic Choir, named after G. Sharma.

Artists of the National Academic Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theater of Belarus, the Belarusian State Academic Musical Theater musical theatre., and the Belarusian State Philharmonic Society are well known both in Belarus and abroad due to their outstanding talent and performance excellence.

2. Fleeing Europe's Last Dictator - Documentaries about Belarus

Belarus has been Alyaksandr Lukashenka's fiefdom for the past 26 years. Lukashenka, known as Europe's last dictator, has kept a tight grip on power by preserving much of the country's Soviet past. Until the start of the country's presidential election campaign in spring 2020, his position appeared secure. Despite imprisoning or suppressing most of his potential opponents, Lukashenka now finds himself up against a united opposition and fighting for his political life. Why is Lukashenka's regime in jeopardy, and how did he manage to stay in power for so long?

Alyaksandr Lukashenka was elected president of Belarus with 80% of the vote in a runoff election against communist leader Vyacheslav Kebic in July 1994. Lukashenka was previously the director of a state farm and had a successful anti-corruption political career. The election of 1994 was widely regarded as free and fair. It was, without a doubt, the most trustworthy vote ever held in Belarus. Lukashenka was viewed as a populist with no straightforward political program at the time. Belarusians had voted to overthrow the old communist regime.

3. Belarus: Europe's North Korea - Documentaries about Belarus

Thousands of Belarusians have fled to Ukraine. About a hundred of them gathered in Kyiv to denounce President Alexander Lukashenko. His repression of the opposition has increased since massive protests erupted in August following an allegedly rigged election that gave him a sixth term in office.

"A North Korea is being built step by step" in Belarus, according to protester Syarhey Bulba in Kyiv.

Last Sunday's Ryanair flight detour and the arrest of Raman Pratasevich, 26, and his girlfriend exemplified Lukashenko's harsh rule. Because of a bomb threat received while en route from Athens to Vilnius, Belarusian authorities said the plane was ordered to land in Minsk, accompanied by a fighter jet.

Western countries have condemned the action as kidnapping and demanded Pratasevich's release. Pratasevich is the founder of a messaging app channel that was widely used to coordinate anti-Lukashenko protests. He could be sentenced to 15 years in prison.

As a result, the European Union has banned flights from Belarus. The long-term consequences of that decision are unknown, but many fear it will push Belarus closer to Russia, which has dismissed criticism of the plane's detour. On Friday and Saturday, Lukashenko met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

4. The Children Of Bragin - Documentaries about Belarus

The consequences of the Chernobyl disaster are still being felt seventeen years later. The peculiarity of radioactive contamination is that it will continue to cause problems for several years. Moreover, despite the wide-scale relocation of people from the places of the most dangerous residence, around two million people (including about 500000 children) continue to live in Belarussian territories with different radioactive contamination levels. The closing of the Chernobyl NPP in 2001 led to the situation when the Chernobyl problem had practically appeared to be in the line of everyday issues. Belarus suffered a significant ecological impact after the disaster due to its geographic position. The southern border of the region is only 6 kilometres from Chernobyl nuclear station. The Gomel' area and Bragin district is a focus area of SDC and is located in this region.

The sickness and death rate in the Gomel' area is higher than the same rates in other regions of the Republic of Belarus (for example, the situation with thyroid gland cancer among children). 17 years after the Chernobyl catastrophe, its consequences have not been liquidated. The peculiarity of radioactive contamination is so that the problems will remain for several years ahead. Moreover, despite the wide-scale relocation of people from the places of the most dangerous residence, around two million people (including about 500000 children) continue to live in Belarussian territories with different radioactive contamination levels. The closing of the Chernobyl NPP in 2001 led to the situation when the Chernobyl problem had practically appeared to be in the line of everyday issues. To focus the attention of the world community again on the Chernobyl topic, Belarus suffered a significant ecological impact after the disaster due to its geographic position. The southern border of the region is only 6 kilometres from Chernobyl nuclear station. The Gomel' area and Bragin district is a focus area of SDC and is located in this region.