Matthew Frear
@mattchik.bsky.social
Assistant Professor, Leiden University. Russian and Eurasian Studies, including 🇧🇾🇺🇦
Pinned
Matthew Frear
@mattchik.bsky.social
· Jan 2
A chapter from me on Belarus in an edited volume on Personalism and Personalist Regimes, just in time for upcoming elections! global.oup.com/academic/pro...
A discussion with local analysts why an agreement over Ukraine might be good for Lukashenka but bad for Belarusian society 🇧🇾https://news.zerkalo.io/economics/114417.html
«Может сложиться наихудший из сценариев». Аналитик об опасностях для Беларуси (но не Лукашенко) в случае если РФ и Украина договорятся
«Мы можем подойти к ситуации, в которой это беларусским демсилам надо стараться заявить о себе, а не Лукашенко».
news.zerkalo.io
November 27, 2025 at 6:08 PM
A discussion with local analysts why an agreement over Ukraine might be good for Lukashenka but bad for Belarusian society 🇧🇾https://news.zerkalo.io/economics/114417.html
Reposted by Matthew Frear
How Britain replaced the US as Russia’s villain of choice
How Britain replaced the US as Russia’s villain of choice
London and Moscow’s rivalry stretches back to the imperial era, but the Ukraine war has brought relations to a new low
www.theguardian.com
November 16, 2025 at 6:51 AM
How Britain replaced the US as Russia’s villain of choice
Reposted by Matthew Frear
The problem of succession is the most critical question for Russia’s regime. But it is not solely one of who replaces Putin himself. It is also a question of succession across most of Russia’s sprawling imperium of institutional offices.
ridl.io/russia-s-sec...
ridl.io/russia-s-sec...
Russia’s Securitized Boomerism – Riddle Russia
Julian G. Waller discusses the problem of generational sclerosis within Russia’s elite and new efforts at belated reform
ridl.io
November 10, 2025 at 1:20 PM
The problem of succession is the most critical question for Russia’s regime. But it is not solely one of who replaces Putin himself. It is also a question of succession across most of Russia’s sprawling imperium of institutional offices.
ridl.io/russia-s-sec...
ridl.io/russia-s-sec...
My first little appearance in the Portuguese press!
Alívio de sanções e libertação de presos políticos. A aproximação Trump/Lukashenko que permitiu a Yauhen contar como saiu da prisão
Alívio de sanções e libertação de presos políticos. A aproximação Trump/Lukashenko que permitiu a Yauhen contar como saiu da prisão
EUA aliviaram sanções à Bielorrússia e Minsk libertou 51 presos. Jornalista Yauhen Merkis foi um desses e descreveu ao Observador a colónia penal onde esteve. Trump está mais próximo de Lukashenko?
ebx.sh
November 10, 2025 at 4:26 PM
My first little appearance in the Portuguese press!
Trump reiterates special envoy for Belarus and desire to see more political prisoners freed, along with some sort of potential 'big deal' 🇧🇾🇺🇲 news.zerkalo.io/economics/11...
Трамп назначит специального посланника по Беларуси. Он поблагодарил Лукашенко и анонсировал освобождение политзаключенных
Спецпосланником должен стать Джон Коул, который ведет переговоры с Лукашенко по освобождению политзаключенных.
news.zerkalo.io
November 9, 2025 at 10:10 PM
Trump reiterates special envoy for Belarus and desire to see more political prisoners freed, along with some sort of potential 'big deal' 🇧🇾🇺🇲 news.zerkalo.io/economics/11...
Reposted by Matthew Frear
Kremlin ontkent dat minister Lavrov in ongenade is gevallen
Kremlin ontkent dat minister Lavrov in ongenade is gevallen
Lavrov ontbrak bij een belangrijke vergadering en werd vervangen als vertegenwoordiger op de G20 voor Poetin. Toch is er niets aan de hand, zegt het Kremlin.
nos.nl
November 7, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Kremlin ontkent dat minister Lavrov in ongenade is gevallen
Tsikhanouskaya visiting Australia and New Zealand at invitation of their governments 🇦🇺🇳🇿 en.belsat.eu/89881859/tsi...
November 6, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Tsikhanouskaya visiting Australia and New Zealand at invitation of their governments 🇦🇺🇳🇿 en.belsat.eu/89881859/tsi...
🇧🇾🇺🇦🇷🇺🪖 en.belsat.eu/89870085/bel...
Belarus offers its ‘peacekeepers’ to Ukraine — but nobody wants them
The Belarusian authorities — who helped Russia wage war against Ukraine in 2022 — have come forward with a new “peace initiative” supposedly aimed at ending the conflict. After previously offering to ...
en.belsat.eu
November 6, 2025 at 7:28 AM
🇧🇾🇺🇦🇷🇺🪖 en.belsat.eu/89870085/bel...
Reposted by Matthew Frear
Buitenlandse journalisten over onze verkiezingen: "Iedereen schreeuwt tegen elkaar"
Buitenlandse journalisten over onze verkiezingen: "Iedereen schreeuwt tegen elkaar"
Media uit onder meer Oostenrijk, Italië en Japan sturen hun correspondent naar ons land. Hoe kijken zij naar de campagne?
nos.nl
October 29, 2025 at 10:31 AM
Buitenlandse journalisten over onze verkiezingen: "Iedereen schreeuwt tegen elkaar"
Reposted by Matthew Frear
Plots ging het ‘Russische Facebook’ in Belarus op zwart, op bevel van de geheime dienst KGB. Maar waarom zou Loekasjenko uitgerekend Moskou’s populairste platform saboteren?
Artikel voor @platformraam.nl
platformraam.nl/in-het-kort/...
Artikel voor @platformraam.nl
platformraam.nl/in-het-kort/...
VKontakte als wapen: Moskou houdt Loekasjenko in toom via de nieuwsfeed
Bij Raam op Rusland vindt u altijd het laatste nieuws over Rusland, Oekraïne en de voormalige Sovjet-Unie. Ga naar de site voor het nieuws van vandaag.
platformraam.nl
October 27, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Plots ging het ‘Russische Facebook’ in Belarus op zwart, op bevel van de geheime dienst KGB. Maar waarom zou Loekasjenko uitgerekend Moskou’s populairste platform saboteren?
Artikel voor @platformraam.nl
platformraam.nl/in-het-kort/...
Artikel voor @platformraam.nl
platformraam.nl/in-het-kort/...
Reposted by Matthew Frear
Last Friday night, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya delivered RAAM's ninth annual October Lecture, titled 'Caught between Russia, Ukraine and NATO: Belarusians' existential struggle for their country's survival'. The full text and a video recording are available below. 👇
platformraam.nl/artikelen/29...
platformraam.nl/artikelen/29...
Caught between Russia, Ukraine and NATO: Belarusians’ existential struggle for their country’s survival
On Friday, October 17, 2025, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, leader of the democratic Belarusian opposition against dictator Alexander...
platformraam.nl
October 20, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Last Friday night, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya delivered RAAM's ninth annual October Lecture, titled 'Caught between Russia, Ukraine and NATO: Belarusians' existential struggle for their country's survival'. The full text and a video recording are available below. 👇
platformraam.nl/artikelen/29...
platformraam.nl/artikelen/29...
Going to catch a Ukrainian film(U Are The Universe) and a Belarusian film (The Swan Song of Fedor Ozerov)at the Leiden International Film Festival this afternoon.
October 19, 2025 at 8:53 AM
Going to catch a Ukrainian film(U Are The Universe) and a Belarusian film (The Swan Song of Fedor Ozerov)at the Leiden International Film Festival this afternoon.
Reposted by Matthew Frear
De Nederlandse patatkraam in Oekraïne redt mensenlevens. In de documentaire ‘Patatje Oorlog’ staan twee Hollandse patatboeren tussen de Russische drones.
buff.ly/hvoFtfh
buff.ly/hvoFtfh
Tv-recensie | Een patatje oorlog eten midden in een oorlog
Zap: De Nederlandse patatkraam in Oekraïne redt mensenlevens. In de documentaire ‘Patatje Oorlog’ staan twee Hollandse patatboeren tussen de Russische drones. In het programma ‘Interview met de…
buff.ly
October 9, 2025 at 9:09 AM
De Nederlandse patatkraam in Oekraïne redt mensenlevens. In de documentaire ‘Patatje Oorlog’ staan twee Hollandse patatboeren tussen de Russische drones.
buff.ly/hvoFtfh
buff.ly/hvoFtfh
Reposted by Matthew Frear
The gap between BRICS rhetoric and reality is vast, but that does not make the grouping irrelevant.
Why the West Should Take BRICS+ Seriously (But Not Literally)
The gap between BRICS rhetoric and reality is vast, but that does not make the grouping irrelevant.
buff.ly
October 9, 2025 at 10:29 AM
The gap between BRICS rhetoric and reality is vast, but that does not make the grouping irrelevant.
Why isn't Zelensky speaking with Lukashenka? 🇺🇦🇧🇾 m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrNh...
Шрайбман: почему Зеленский не говорит с Лукашенко, охрана Тихановской и стратегия Тихановского | КЭП
YouTube video by ЗЕРКАЛО
m.youtube.com
October 8, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Why isn't Zelensky speaking with Lukashenka? 🇺🇦🇧🇾 m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrNh...
Reposted by Matthew Frear
Time may no longer be on Russia's side.
US, EU and Chinese policies, and domestic strains, are reshaping Russia's calculus. So it is challenging Western resolve in risker ways. This is certain to escalate unless Europe responds.
www.iiss.org/online-analy...
US, EU and Chinese policies, and domestic strains, are reshaping Russia's calculus. So it is challenging Western resolve in risker ways. This is certain to escalate unless Europe responds.
www.iiss.org/online-analy...
The Russia–Ukraine war has entered a new phase
Recent policy choices by America, Europe and China, and domestic economic strains, are reshaping Russia’s calculus. Since time may no longer be on its side, it is challenging Western resolve in more risky and aggressive ways. This is certain to escalate unless Europe responds.
www.iiss.org
October 7, 2025 at 10:58 PM
Time may no longer be on Russia's side.
US, EU and Chinese policies, and domestic strains, are reshaping Russia's calculus. So it is challenging Western resolve in risker ways. This is certain to escalate unless Europe responds.
www.iiss.org/online-analy...
US, EU and Chinese policies, and domestic strains, are reshaping Russia's calculus. So it is challenging Western resolve in risker ways. This is certain to escalate unless Europe responds.
www.iiss.org/online-analy...
Reposted by Matthew Frear
Veruit de meeste buitenlandse correspondenten hebben Rusland verlaten na het begin van de invasie in Oekraïne. Hoe blijf je Rusland-correspondent als je zelf niet meer in het land bent? Joost Bosman (o.a. AD, FD, BNR, EW en 1V) schreef zijn gedachten op.
Het leven van een Rusland-correspondent buiten Rusland
Veruit de meeste buitenlandse correspondenten hebben Rusland verlaten na het begin van de Russische invasie in Oekraïne, nu ruim drieëneenhalf jaar...
buff.ly
October 5, 2025 at 8:15 AM
Veruit de meeste buitenlandse correspondenten hebben Rusland verlaten na het begin van de invasie in Oekraïne. Hoe blijf je Rusland-correspondent als je zelf niet meer in het land bent? Joost Bosman (o.a. AD, FD, BNR, EW en 1V) schreef zijn gedachten op.
Reposted by Matthew Frear
‘People are really dying’: Belarusians warn Lukashenko’s crackdown is far from over
‘People are really dying’: Belarusians warn Lukashenko’s crackdown is far from over
Those recently freed from jail say authoritarian leader is using political prisoners as bargaining chips to ease sanctions
www.theguardian.com
October 4, 2025 at 2:31 PM
‘People are really dying’: Belarusians warn Lukashenko’s crackdown is far from over
Reposted by Matthew Frear
The loneliness of the long-distance war supporter in Russia. New Blogpost postsocialism.org/2025/10/03/t...
The loneliness of the long-distance war supporter in Russia
Irritation and isolation is the flipside of the ‘comfort’ culture. And perhaps what partly feeds demand for it. Most of all, though, war supporters feel lonely.
postsocialism.org
October 3, 2025 at 2:35 PM
The loneliness of the long-distance war supporter in Russia. New Blogpost postsocialism.org/2025/10/03/t...
Reposted by Matthew Frear
What to make of the Intervision song contest? See this excellent article by Joanna York for @france24.com, including comment from me. @uclssees.bsky.social
www.france24.com/en/europe/20...
www.france24.com/en/europe/20...
Soft power: Russia revives the Intervision song contest, Cold War rival to Eurovision
Russia on Saturday hosts Intervision, an international song contest that was a regular fixture in Soviet states in the 1960s and ’70s. The revival follows Russia’s exclusion from Eurovision since its…
www.france24.com
September 22, 2025 at 2:46 PM
What to make of the Intervision song contest? See this excellent article by Joanna York for @france24.com, including comment from me. @uclssees.bsky.social
www.france24.com/en/europe/20...
www.france24.com/en/europe/20...
Reposted by Matthew Frear
Servant of two masters: Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko is once again being courted by the West
Attention from the U.S. and an easing of diplomatic isolation has given Lukashenko a chance to resume his favorite game of geopolitical polygamy.
Attention from the U.S. and an easing of diplomatic isolation has given Lukashenko a chance to resume his favorite game of geopolitical polygamy.
Servant of two masters: Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko is once again being courted by the West
Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko is once again finding an audience in the West. Envoys of the U.S. president are visiting him, and Donald Trump has personally placed a phone call. For Lukashen...
theins.press
September 4, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Servant of two masters: Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko is once again being courted by the West
Attention from the U.S. and an easing of diplomatic isolation has given Lukashenko a chance to resume his favorite game of geopolitical polygamy.
Attention from the U.S. and an easing of diplomatic isolation has given Lukashenko a chance to resume his favorite game of geopolitical polygamy.
Reposted by Matthew Frear
From bagpipes to borscht: exploring Edinburgh’s Ukrainian heritage on foot
From bagpipes to borscht: exploring Edinburgh’s Ukrainian heritage on foot
A new walking tour offers a chance to meet the city’s Ukrainian community, with stops for hearty dumplings, castle views and shared histories
www.theguardian.com
September 4, 2025 at 6:33 AM
From bagpipes to borscht: exploring Edinburgh’s Ukrainian heritage on foot