December 04, 2023

No Pictures with Lukashenko, Please


No Pictures with Lukashenko, Please
Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko speaking at the COP28 in Dubai. Belarus MFA, Twitter.

On November 30, world leaders gathered in Dubai for the United Nations' annual Conference of Parts (COP) to discuss policies to mitigate climate change. However, regional tensions stole the spotlight: the Presidents of Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland refused to appear in the group picture because Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko would also be in it.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said, "This is called a family photo. Lukashenko does not belong to the family we want to belong to."

Nausėda pointed out the hypocrisy of "standing shoulder to shoulder with the head of a state that has become the springboard for Russian aggression in Ukraine" and pretending like nothing had happened. The Latvian and Polish Presidents, Edgars Rinkēvičs and Anzreij Duda, also refused to appear in the group picture alongside Lukashenko. 

Ukraine is not the only point of contention with the Belarussian head of state. Lukashenko's neighbors have long considered him a threat.

In late 2021, Minsk created a crisis at its border with Poland by tricking and trafficking people from the Middle East and Africa into neighboring territory. Polish and Belarussian police used excessive force against the migrants and left them in a "grey zone" in the woods between both countries. At least 200 people are missing, and 49 have died from wounds, hunger, and freezing conditions.

In 2022, after Wagner Group Leader Yevgeny Prigozhin led a mutiny in Russia, the mercenary army was stationed in Belarus. Minsk conducted military drills with Wagner near the Polish border, raising red flags in neighboring countries and leading to the mobilization of troops

The COP28 runs through December 12. Russian Presdient Vladimir Putin will not attend the UN's climate summit. Instead, the Russian delegation is headed by the president's special envoy for climate change, Ruslan Edelgeriev.

You Might Also Like

  • October 11, 2023

"Our Men Are Not Slaves; Bring Them Home"

Relatives of mobilized Russians are demanding the return of loved ones who have been at war for an extended period. Russian authorities are censoring their messages.
Beware the Partisans
  • October 05, 2023

Beware the Partisans

Russia has witnessed nearly 310 cases of arson, explosions, and sabotage in the past 19 months.
Stop My Flight If You Can
  • September 21, 2023

Stop My Flight If You Can

Despite sanctions, Russia imported Boeing and Airbus spare parts worth at least R18 billion in 2022.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
The Latchkey Murders

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955