The volume was presented at the 23rd Minsk Forum in Warsaw on 22 September 2026; a video recording of the presentation is available here.
Readers can download the complete Yearbook in Russian/Belarusian and English.
Since its earliest editions, the Yearbook has brought together contributors with different approaches to understanding Belarus. Its aim is to examine not only what has happened, but also the decisions and circumstances that shaped events, and how the country and its external environment are changing. This edition brings together analysis of domestic politics, Belarus’s growing dependence on Russia, relations with the West, economic trends, state media and questions of national identity. The range of perspectives offers a broader picture than any single account could provide.
In his foreword, Aliaksandr Fiaduta recalls that the Yearbook was conceived as a politically neutral, non-partisan publication. Yet the authorities and their affiliates came to regard it as an opposition project. After a three-year pause, publication resumed in 2026. Over the course of the project, its managers and contributors have faced prison sentences, convictions and exile. Fiaduta also pays tribute to colleagues who did not live to see the Yearbook’s return: Vital Silitski, Siarhei Pankouski, Aleg Bahutski, Kanstantsin Skuratovich, Raman Yakauleuski and Barys Tasman.
Independent public opinion research once played a central role in the Yearbook, helping readers understand how Belarusians responded to change. The dismantling of independent sociological research has made such analysis harder to produce, but also more necessary. The Yearbook continues to document developments in Belarus and to bring different interpretations into conversation.
At the Warsaw presentation, Andrei Laurukhin expressed particular gratitude to Gabriele Baumann, Head of the Belarus office of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, for recognizing the importance of continuing this work and helping to “keep a finger on the pulse of life in the country.”
The work on and publication of the Yearbook were funded by the Institute for Development and Social Market in Belarus and Eastern Europe (IDSMBEE) and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung for Belarus.
The Yearbook was compiled and edited by Andrei Laurukhin and Dzmitry Kukhlei. Academic reviewers: Piotr Rudkouski, PhD, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Free Belarus Journal (Warsaw); Volga Shparaha, PhD, Visiting Scholar at the Institute of Philosophy III at FernUniversität in Hagen; Kamil Kłysiński, Senior Fellow at the Department for Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova at the Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW) in Warsaw; and Šarūnas Liekis, Professor of Politics and Dean of the Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy at Vytautas Magnus University (VMU). Prepared for print by Ales Miklashevich. Translated by Uladzimir Kuznetsov.
The views expressed in this collection are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial board or the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung for Belarus.