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south

15 (10.9%)

north

32 (23.2%)

east

4 (2.9%)

west

12 (8.7%)

twilight zone

50 (36.2%)

i dont give a damn

25 (18.1%)

Total Members Voted: 135

[Devling]

sounds like a nice place to go on a trip too!

Probably not great to live in!

I mean no offence, but the only people who would move there would probably be rich people, and that sounds like a bad idea for everyone.

[Guardian G.I.]

Greetings from Belarus.
We have friendly and hospitable people, beautiful nature, relatively nice weather, nice architecture, clean and orderly streets, no serious conflicts within the society, low crime rates, low unemployment (because unlike our neighbours in the EU like Poland and Lithuania/Latvia/Estonia, we still have industry), something resembling actually working social security and a non-corrupt government that at least tries to improve the situation in the country instead of fighting for power and money.
However, according to Western politicians, mass media and our political opposition, Belarus doesn't have Freedom^®, Democracy™ and Human Rights^®.

[Durin Stronginthearm]

Do the trains run on time as well?

[misko27]

Greetings from Belarus.
We have friendly and hospitable people, beautiful nature, relatively nice weather, nice architecture, clean and orderly streets, no serious conflicts within the society, low crime rates, low unemployment (because unlike our neighbours in the EU like Poland and Lithuania/Latvia/Estonia, we still have industry), something resembling actually working social security and a non-corrupt government that at least tries to improve the situation in the country instead of fighting for power and money.
However, according to Western politicians, mass media and our political opposition, Belarus doesn't have Freedom^®, Democracy™ and Human Rights^®.

Yes, ignoring Opposition parties is a under-rated value. (I am actually being serious). But human rights can have their perks.

Do the trains run on time as well?

Trains in Serbia run on Balkan time. Which is to say, "When they get there, is when they get there". Even the Nazis couldn't make them run on time.

[Svarte Troner]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Greetings from Belarus.
We have friendly and hospitable people, beautiful nature, relatively nice weather, nice architecture, clean and orderly streets, no serious conflicts within the society, low crime rates, low unemployment (because unlike our neighbours in the EU like Poland and Lithuania/Latvia/Estonia, we still have industry), something resembling actually working social security and a non-corrupt government that at least tries to improve the situation in the country instead of fighting for power and money.
However, according to Western politicians, mass media and our political opposition, Belarus doesn't have Freedom^®, Democracy™ and Human Rights^®.

That and Lukashenko has a powerful moustache the likes of which haven't been seen since the times of Stalin.

[Askot Bokbondeler]

i can forgive dictators, but not homophobes.

[Urist McDwarfFortress]

That and Lukashenko has a powerful moustache the likes of which haven't been seen since the times of Stalin.

Wow. That guy's your president? He looks absolutely terrifying!

Of course, that does have a lot to do with his scowl. He looks much less like he's about to murder somebody in this one:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I'm interested, though, in how you describe your country's human rights in terms of how other people view it, rather than your own experience. I'm guessing this means that speaking out against your government is... discouraged.

[10ebbor10]

He even has his own website.

[Owlbread]

Isn't Lukashenko the delightful man who's trying to turn Belarus into a Russian province through Russification e.g. abandonment of Belarusian language policies, changing the national flag into the old Communist one, joining the Union State etc?

Isn't he the guy that said of people going to opposition protests: "We will wring their necks, as one might a duck"?

Isn't he the guy that said "the history of Germany is a copy of the history of Belarus. Germany was raised from ruins thanks to firm authority and not everything connected with that well-known figure Hitler was bad. German order evolved over the centuries and attained its peak under Hitler."

And isn't he the guy that said to the German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle (an openly gay man) after he called him "Europe's last dictator" - "better to be a dictator than gay"?

If so, he's a really charming, sensitive, noble leader. We can all learn from Batska's example.

[Guardian G.I.]

People in the West think that in Belarus the Belarusian culture is forbidden and any sign of disapproval with the government policies is brutally punished. However, such statements are exaggerated.

The Union State treaty is only symbolical: the founded political organs haven't done anything in the past years, and the adoption of the Russian rouble by Belarus has been constantly delayed by the Belarusian government. The latest integration project which involves Belarus - the Eurasian Union is envisioned as a EU-style political, economic and military alliance of sovereign member states (Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan) and doesn't plan unification into a single state.

I've already posted about culture here.

Criticizing the government is not forbidden. People around here love complaining about the Belarusian economy and the actions of the local authorities and no one is arrested for that. Private-owned newspapers are often critical of government policies, especially the opposition-affiliated newspapers (which are sold in state-run newsstands, by the way).
Unsanctioned demonstrations organised by the opposition are dispersed by the police, though. Opposition rallies which has been permitted by the local authorities are not dispersed. The most recent such rallies have taken place on the 26th of April (the Chernobyl Way rally, commemorating the anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster) and the 25th of March (commemorating the anniversary of the establishment of the Belarusian National Republic in 1918).

And isn't he the guy that said to the German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle (an openly gay man) after he called him "Europe's last dictator" - "better to be a dictator than gay"?

Actually, he didn't say that to him in person. When Westerwelle called him a dictator, he was in Germany, and Lukashenko responded to him in an interview to Belarusian television at a skiing competition in Minsk.

[Reudh]

[Insert stereotypically Australian greeting here.]

Hello folks! I'm from the south of Australia, the CULTURED city of Melbourne. Don't believe anything Sydneysiders tell you.

[miauw62]

I'm from Belgium, as everyone knows, Belgium is the best country.

[Sheb]

So you can have a rally as long as it's not criticizing the government, and saying it's better to be a dictator than gay is alright if you don't say it in front of a gay.

[Owlbread]

Guardian G.I. was good in that he didn't actually try to justify anything Lukashenko said (e.g. the admiration for Hitler, the homophobic remark, the horrible aggression towards dissidents) he just cleared up one point that might be misinterpreted as an insult to Mr. Westerwelle's face.

[Guardian G.I.]

So you can have a rally as long as it's not criticizing the government, and saying it's better to be a dictator than gay is alright if you don't say it in front of a gay.

People at opposition rallies (regardless of whether the rally is permitted or not) usually wave white-red-white flags and demand the release of political prisoners.