Rights groups, activists and independent media in Russia and Belarus endured increased government scrutiny, repressive laws and even were shut down and forced to operate from exile abroad.

(AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov) A woman covers herself with an old Belarusian national flag while shouting at police during a protest near the residence of President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk, Belarus, ...

Belarus’ authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power for over 30 years, is poised to extend his rule in an election that concludes Sunday and that the opposition dismisses as a ...

With many of his political opponents either jailed or exiled abroad, Alexander Lukashenko, dubbed “Europe’s last dictator,” is all but certain to add a seventh term.

and pushed for abandoning the country’s red-and-white national flag in favor of one similar to what it used as a Soviet republic. Belarus' top security agency kept its fearsome Soviet-era name ...

Several players at Australian Open 2025 have been competing without a national flag, with world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka included.

Players from Russia and Belarus have ‘blue flags’ instead ... long tradition of fans supporting players by flying their national flags, it brings colour and excitement to the event,” Tennis ...

Several players at Australian Open 2025 have been competing without a national flag, with world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka included.

Near a border checkpoint between Belarus and Ukraine ... a large blue and yellow sign in the colours of the Ukrainian flag can be seen. The road leads to Chernigiv, a major city in northern ...