Works Cited

Margarita Danilevich

5th Period

Cunningham

4/17/20

Works Cited

“2000s For Democracy in Belarus: a Decade of Disappointment.” BelarusDigest, 30 Dec. 2009, belarusdigest.com/story/2000s-for-democracy-in-belarus-a-decade-of-disappointment/, 17 March 2020.

• “2006, with its tragic and disgraceful defeat of the opposition at the presidential elections, has become a landmark year in the 2000s. The lesson we should learn from these years is that 2016 is either unlikely to become the year of Belarus’ liberation from dictatorship” (Čajčyc 1).
• “A whole range of specifically Belarusian problems came into play: weak national self-identification of the people, lack of political culture and absence of national elite, the unfinished process of formation of the Belarusian nation as such. All the dark legacy of the Soviet age, which might not be so noticeable to an outside observer, has realized its potential in the 1990s and became institutionalized in the 2000s.” (Čajčyc 1).
• “Ukraine’s Orange Revolution in 2004 has spread much hope that was not destined to turn into reality. The noughties have been a decade of disappointment for Belarus” (Čajčyc 2).

Curry, Erin. “Belarus Faces Religious Oppression in Wake of Controversial New Law.” Baptist Press, 29 Oct. 2002, www.bpnews.net/14537/belarus-faces-religious-oppression-in-wake-of-controversial-new-law, 17 March 2020.

• “The new law, opposed by all minority religious groups including evangelicals, outlaws unregistered religious activity; requires compulsory prior censorship for all religious literature; bans foreign citizens from leading religious organizations; restricts publishing and education to faiths that have 10 registered communities, including at least one registered in 1982; and bans all but occasional, small religious meetings in private homes, Keston reported Oct. 23.” (Curry 2).
• “Some predict the law will cause many Belarusians to emigrate in order to escape religious oppression.” This relates to my family’s own immigration, and this prediction ended up being correct. (Curry 2).
• “According to Keston, Artur Livshits, a member of the Civic Initiative for Freedom of Conscience, believes the new religion law is merely a reworking of Joseph Stalin's 1929 decree on religious associations, which imposed severe restrictions on religious activity that remained for almost the entire Soviet period.” (Curry 2).

Porter, Melinda R. “Comments on the 2002 Belarusian Law ‘On the Introduction of Changes and Amendments to the Law of the Republic of Belarus ‘On Religious Freedom and Religious Organizations.’” ICNL, Sept. 2003, www.icnl.org/resources/research/ijnl/comments-on-the-2002-belarusian-law-on-the-introduction-of-changes-and-amendments-to-the-law-of-the-republic-of-belarus-on-religious-freedom-and-religious-organizations, 17 March 2020.

• “Belarus declared independence and supremacy of Belarusian law over the Soviet Constitution on August 25, 1991. In 1994, Belarus passed its own Constitution, which provided for freedom of religion and equality among religious faiths. In 1996, the Constitution was amended in an unlawful referendum, modifying the article on religious freedom to allow for favoritism among religious denominations. In 1992, Belarus passed the law “On the Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations,” which was amended several times, most recently in 1999.” (Porter 1).
• “Religious organizations can produce, obtain, export, import, and distribute religious literature, other printed, audio, and video productions, as well as other articles with religious purpose in the order established by the legislation of Belarus. However, these items can be imported or distributed only after the state religious expert has examined them. No standards govern this examination. This examination is apparently intended to censor any material that the government-appointed expert dislikes. There is no method by which the religious organization could challenge a censorship order.” (Porter 2).
• “Suspending the activities of a religious organization means that religious and business activities cease. The organization cannot found legal entities, originate communications over the mass media, or spend money beyond obligatory payments arising out of pre existing commitments. Suspension means that a religious organization cannot use its assets to pay a lawyer to help defend it against liquidation. The members of the religious organization would likely be hindered in practicing their religion during the suspension.” (Porter 3).

Wines, Michael. “New Belarus Law Codifies Rising Religious Repression.” The New York Times, 23 Nov. 2002, www.nytimes.com/2002/11/23/world/new-belarus-law-codifies-rising-religious-repression.html, 17 March 2020.

• “Belarus, which underwent more than its share of religious repression under Soviet rule, now has a new religion law, ''About the Freedom of Confessions and Religious Organizations.'' And even before it fully takes effect, persecution of Hindus and people of other faiths not approved by the government -- and some that are -- has been ratcheted sharply up.” (Wines 1).
• Any religion that would go against the Orthodox church or standard religion would be severely oppressed, and the people practicing it would be shunned (Wines 2).
• “''There's been a web of restrictions and control of religious communities in the last few years,'' Felix Corley, editor of the London-based Keston Institute's news service and an expert on religious trends in Belarus, said in a telephone interview. ''You can't have outdoor events. You can't build a church without permission from the authorities, and you can't get permission. This new law has really codified and clamped down on everything.''” (Wines 2).

Yanenka, Zmitser. “Religion in Belarus: No Conscience, No Freedom.” Index on Censorship, 9 Jan. 2017, www.indexoncensorship.org/2013/03/religion-in-belarus-no-conscience-no-freedom/, 17 March 2020.

• “According to official statistics, there are 3,374 religious organisations that represent 25 different denominations officially registered in Belarus. Almost half of the religious communities are Christian Orthodox; the Catholic Church is the second most popular (479 communities or about 15 percent of the total registered in the country). Both Orthodox and Catholic Christmas and Easter are official state holidays. The Orthodox Church is considered to be an “official” one — its leaders are quite close to the authorities, and there is even a special Agreement on Cooperation between the Belarus Orthodox Church and the country’s government, signed in 2003.” (Yanenka 1).
• “Aleh is from Salihorsk, a city of Belarusian miners, and he works for Belaruskaliy, one of the biggest exporting companies in the country that mines potassium. He says 100,000 roubles, equivalent to about £7, is deducted from each worker’s salary several times a year as a “compulsory voluntary donation” towards building of a new Orthodox church in the city.” (Yanenka 2).
• ““In 2002 Belarus adopted the Law ‘on freedom of conscience and religious organisations’ that is the most repressive in Europe. Despite its name, the law has no freedom and no conscience. It makes registering new religious organisations almost impossible; it critically complicates creation of new religious communities; it deprives believers of the right to spread their beliefs outside the walls of their churches,”” (Yanenka 3).
• “According to Aliaksei Shein, a new oppressive trend has become vivid over the last two years, as the regime started using one of the most popular “political” articles of the criminal code — Article 193.1 — against members and activists of religious organisations. This article results in criminal liability for activities on behalf of unregistered organisations. The KGB (the State Security Committee) issues official warnings to non-registered Christian communities – and there are around a hundred of them in Belarus.” (Yanenka 3).