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Jan Maksymiuk

Also by Jan Maksymiuk

March 11, 2014
Ukraine's Rock Star Poet Who Chose To Fight Back

Acclaimed Ukrainian writer and Euromaidan supporter Serhiy Zhadan says separatism has "no future" in his country.
December 17, 2010
As Belarus Votes, World Outside Settles On Lukashenka As The Devil It Knows

As Belarus heads to the polls, Moscow, Brussels, and Washington appear to have rallied around Alyaksandr Lukashenka as the least bad option.
May 14, 2010
EU's Fuele Says Eastern Partnership 'Absolutely A Success'

When the Eastern Partnership, a plan aimed at strengthening ties between the EU and its eastern neighbors, marked its first anniversary last week, barely a whisper of enthusiasm could be heard. But the EU's commissioner for enlargement and neighborhood policy says he remains upbeat.
June 03, 2009
Poland Divided Over 1989 Revolution Legacy

On June 4, 1989, Poles voted in semi-democratic parliamentary elections, handing a landslide victory to opposition candidates fielded by the Solidarity trade union. The communists duly ceded defeat, paving the way for Solidarity to form a government.
May 06, 2009
Belarus's President In From The Cold, But Unrepentant

Belarus President Alyaksandr Lukashenka is back and buoyant, with big ideas and a five-year-old heir. And hints that he might offer government jobs to political opponents could prove the only bright spot for detractors, as Europe appears to embrace an authoritarian leader without reforming him in the least.
September 30, 2008
An Overdue Debt To Polish History

"Katyn," a film by Polish veteran director Andrzej Wajda, may not be a masterpiece, but the film will surely embed itself in the memory of viewers. If not for its artistic message, then at least for its stunning finale -- the massacre of Polish officers by the Soviet NKVD.
September 29, 2008
Belarus Vote Delivers A Blow To Opposition

The Belarusian government's political opponents will have to figure out how to survive increasing marginalization by authorities and voters alike. For its part, the West will have to determine whether to keep its eggs in the opposition basket, or open a dialogue with President Lukashenka.
September 27, 2008
To Boycott Or Not To Boycott?

Azerbaijan and Belarus are both authoritarian regimes in which opposition political parties, while guaranteed freedom to function by the constitution, are routinely harassed, sidelined, and deprived of access to the media.
September 27, 2008
Recognition Question Looms

Despite some signs of democratization, Belarus's parliamentary elections look like they will mirror earlier flawed polls. But there is a chance that they could get a more favorable international assessment.
September 18, 2008
Pushing Belarus Toward (Slight) Improvement

With Belarus preparing to hold parliamentary elections, both the United States and the European Union have given clear signals that their relations with Belarus could improve if President Alyaksandr Lukashenka chooses to conduct the polls in a more open and transparent way than previously. But is Lukashenka interested?
September 04, 2008
Point Of No Return For Ukraine's Orange Coalition?

The collapse of the coalition government led by former Orange Revolution allies President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko could be the first shot fired in what is expected to be a vicious struggle for the presidency in 2010.
August 25, 2008
Privatization Plan Reveals Change In Belarusian Thinking

Should Belarus's ambitious privatization plan come to fruition, the country's state-dominated economy could be in store for a breakthrough. But it seems that in the face of fiscal expediency, Minsk has no other choice than to allow wider privatization if it hopes to replenish state coffers.
August 19, 2008
The Mystery Of The Kazulin Pardon

Why did Lukashenka decide to free imprisoned opposition figure Alyaksandr Kazulin now, after missing an excellent opportunity earlier this year, when he released several other political prisoners and seemed to be willing to enter into a significant dialogue with the West?
August 15, 2008
Is Ukraine Prepared To Maintain Its Tough Stand Against Russia?

As the world watches the ongoing conflict between Moscow and Tbilisi, many eyes have turned to Ukraine -- a country which, like Georgia, has struggled to break free of Russia's post-Soviet embrace.
August 12, 2008
U.S. Lawyer Imprisoned For Three Years In Belarus

The Minsk City Court has sentenced U.S. citizen Emmanuel Zeltser to three years in prison, finding him guilty of "attempted industrial espionage" and use of forged documents. The verdict comes against the backdrop of a Belarusian-U.S. diplomatic row and is apparently poised to exacerbate the mutual relations even more.
July 21, 2008
Dragnet Sweeps Through Minsk After Blast

Belarus has already seen major reverberations from the Independence Day explosion that injured dozens of concertgoers in Minsk. But the authorities' willingness to haul in opposition sympathizers and cast a massive dragnet could send shivers down the spines of government friends and foes alike.
July 16, 2008
Faint Overtures To Belarus's Opposition

President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has surprised many by including opposition members on local election commissions ahead of the parliamentary elections. But was it anything more than a routine propaganda exercise?
July 10, 2008
Blast Delivers Shock To System

Official reaction to the Minsk bomb blast suggests the damage could extend far beyond authorities' self-serving explanation of "hooliganism."
June 25, 2008
Minsk Seeks Friends In High Places, Vatican Responds

Belarusians are quipping that the Vatican's second-in-command was lured to Minsk only because both states are ruled autocratically and neither is bound by commitments to groups like the Council of Europe.
October 19, 2007
The Power Of A Second Chance

The two political blocs allied in the Orange Revolution have received President Viktor Yushchenko's blessing to form a new ruling coalition. Can they deliver on the promises they made in 2004 and failed to fulfill?

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