Belarus | Time

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya photographed in Brussels on December 15, 2020.

How a Belarusian Teacher and Stay-at-Home Mom Came to Lead a National Revolt

On a hot summer day last August, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya was pacing up and d...

On a hot summer day last August, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya was pacing up and down her empty apartment in Minsk, the capital of Belarus in Central Europe, her life—and her country—in turmoil. With her husband in...

Opposition activist Nina Baginskaya takes part in a women's rally in Minsk, Belarus on Aug. 29, 2020.

Meet the 73-Year-Old Great-Grandmother Defying the Dictatorship in Belarus

Nina Baginskaya, a veteran activist, has emerged as an icon in the country'...

Nina Baginskaya, a veteran activist, has emerged as an icon in the country's fight for democracy

Opposition supporters protest against disputed presidential elections results at Independence Square in Minsk on Aug. 18, 2020.

Tens of Thousands Are Protesting in Belarus. Here's What's Behind the Uprising Against President Lukashenko

Thousands of people have protested for President Lukashenko to step down

President Alexander Lukashenko delivers his annual address to the Belarusian people and National Assembly at the Palace of the Republic.

The Leader of Europe's 'Last Dictatorship' Is Facing an Unprecedented Challenge. Here's What It Could Mean for Belarus

Europe’s longest serving leader Alexander Lukashenko has long worked hard t...

Europe’s longest serving leader Alexander Lukashenko has long worked hard to seem invincible. He has dominated past elections that the U.S. has deemed neither free nor fair and brokered no dissent and suppressed protests. Now,...

Belarusian army vehicles drive preparing for war games at an undisclosed location in Belarus on Sept. 11, 2017.

Russia's Zapad Military Drills Seek to Send a Message to the World

As many as 100,000 could take part in the drills

The landscape around Grzybina, Poland in the Suwalki Gap, the piece of land at the border between Poland and Lithuania, a militarily vulnerable area which connects NATO to the Baltic States.
The potential capture by Russian forces of the Suwalki Gap or bordering Lithuanian territory would cut off the three Baltic States from other NATO countries, January 2017.

The Suwalki Gap: The Most Vulnerable Stretch of Land in Europe

Its vulnerability could decide the fate of the Baltic states

Cuban President Raul Castro salutes for the last time his brother Fidel Castro after placing the urn with his ashes in his tomb at the Santa Ifigenia cemetery in Santiago de Cuba on December 4, 2016.
Fidel Castro's ashes were buried alongside national heroes in the cradle of his revolution on Sunday, as Cuba opens a new era without the communist leader who ruled the island for decades. / AFP / AIN / Marcelino VAZQUEZ (Photo credit should read MARCELINO VAZQUEZ/AFP/Getty Images)

After Castro—5 Nations Where Dictators Still Rule

Autocracies are still far too common