Belarus reverses fuel rises after protests

Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus’s authoritarian president, decreed on the 9 June 2011 that fuel price increases announced in the former Soviet Republic two days earlier should be reversed.

This was in response to rare public protests – the first stirring of popular discontent since the country’s economic crisis deepened.

Also on the 9 June 2011 Russia halved electricity supplies to Belarus over unpaid bills, piling on pressure for it to privatise lucrative assets.

ESO: Background information: Belarus to seek IMF bail-out http://www.europeansources.info/record/belarus-to-seek-imf-bail-out/

BBC News, 9.6.11: Russia halves Belarus power supply over unpaid bills http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13717679

La Repubblica, 1.7.11: Let no-one laugh in Lukashenko's madhouse (via PressEurop) http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/752591-let-no-one-laugh-lukashenkos-madhouse

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