15
April 2024
Past Event
The Struggle for Freedom in Belarus with Andrei Sannikov

The Struggle for Freedom in Belarus with Andrei Sannikov

Past Event
91 Institute
April 15, 2024
Share:
Belarusian presidential candidates Andrei Sannikov speaks to journalists after voting in Minsk, Belarus, on December 19, 2010. (Photo by Maksim Malinouski/AFP via Getty Images)
Caption
Then Belarusian presidential candidate Andrei Sannikov speaks to journalists after voting in Minsk, Belarus, on December 19, 2010. (Photo by Maksim Malinouski/AFP via Getty Images)
15
April 2024
Past Event

Event will also air live on this page.

 

Inquiries: mdewitt@hudson.org

Speakers:
Andrei Sannikov
Andrei Sannikov

Belarus Opposition Leader

Peter Rough 91 Institute
Peter Rough

Senior Fellow and Director, Center on Europe and Eurasia

tod_lindberg
Tod Lindberg

Senior Fellow

Although Belarus gained independence in 1991 when the Soviet Union broke up, it has been the crown jewel of Russia’s sphere of influence for three decades since. Domestically, Belarus remains firmly in the grip of its authoritarian ruler, Alexander Lukashenko, who has maintained power since 1994 through brutal repression and a series of unfree and unfair elections.

Nevertheless, Belarusian civil society has a strong identity and a tradition of peaceful protest in support of freedom and democracy. In 1995, Andrei Sannikov resigned in protest from his position as deputy foreign minister of Belarus after Lukashenko put forward a referendum that would pave the way for the strongman’s consolidation of power. Sannikov has fought for Belarus’s freedom ever since. In 2005, he won the Bruno Kreisky Prize for Service to Human Rights. In 2010, Sannikov ran for president in a sham election in which Lukashenko claimed to have won more than 80 percent of the vote. In the aftermath, Sannikov led a peaceful demonstration in Minsk’s main square. Riot police attacked, badly injuring Sannikov. He was subsequently arrested, imprisoned, and tortured. Under international pressure, the Lukashenko regime released the opposition leader in April 2012. Threatened with rearrest, Sannikov left Belarus and received political asylum in the United Kingdom.

At 91, Sannikov will offer remarks on Belarus’s strategic importance, Russia’s regional ambitions, and prospects for political change in Minsk, followed by a question-and-answer session with 91 Senior Fellow Tod Lindberg.

Agenda

2:30 p.m. | Welcome and Introduction

  • Peter Rough, Senior Fellow and Director, Center on Europe and Eurasia, 91 Institute

2:35 p.m. | Remarks

  • Andrei Sannikov, Belarusian Opposition Leader

2:50 p.m. | Conversation

  • Andrei Sannikov, Belarusian Opposition Leader
  • Tod Lindberg, Senior Fellow, 91 Institute

3:05 | Audience Q&A

Related Events
19
December 2024
Past Event
Exploiting America’s Strengths in Software and Operational Innovation
Featured Speakers:
Dr. Radha Plumb
Margaret Palmieri
Zach Kramer
Rob Morrissey
Bryan Clark
A US Army Origin autonomous weapons system operates during Project Convergence 22 experimentation on October 26, 2022, in Fort Irwin, California. (DVIDS)
19
December 2024
Past Event
Exploiting America’s Strengths in Software and Operational Innovation

Join 91 Senior Fellow Bryan Clark for an event with Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer Dr. Radha Plumb.

A US Army Origin autonomous weapons system operates during Project Convergence 22 experimentation on October 26, 2022, in Fort Irwin, California. (DVIDS)
Featured Speakers:
Dr. Radha Plumb
Margaret Palmieri
Zach Kramer
Rob Morrissey
Bryan Clark
17
December 2024
Past Event
Homeland Security and the China Challenge: A Conversation with Congressman Mark Green
Featured Speakers:
Congressman Mark Green
Jonathan Ward
People walk by a building that is suspected of being used as a secret Chinese police station for the purpose of repressing dissidents living in the United States in lower Manhattan on April 18, 2023. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
17
December 2024
Past Event
Homeland Security and the China Challenge: A Conversation with Congressman Mark Green

Congressman Mark Green will join 91’s Dr. Jonathan Ward to discuss the importance of cybersecurity, critical infrastructure defense, maritime and border security, the fentanyl crisis, and more.

People walk by a building that is suspected of being used as a secret Chinese police station for the purpose of repressing dissidents living in the United States in lower Manhattan on April 18, 2023. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Featured Speakers:
Congressman Mark Green
Jonathan Ward
13
December 2024
Past Event
US-Taiwan Trade and Technology for the Next US Administration
Featured Speakers:
Rupert Hammond-Chambers
Peter Cleveland
Moderator:
Riley Walters
The TSMC facility in Phoenix, Arizona, on January 24, 2023. (Caitlin O'Hara via Getty Images)
13
December 2024
Past Event
US-Taiwan Trade and Technology for the Next US Administration

Join 91 for a discussion on the trade and technology relationship between Washington and Taipei with US-Taiwan Business Council President Rupert Hammond-Chambers and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Senior Vice President Peter Cleveland.

The TSMC facility in Phoenix, Arizona, on January 24, 2023. (Caitlin O'Hara via Getty Images)
Featured Speakers:
Rupert Hammond-Chambers
Peter Cleveland
Moderator:
Riley Walters
12
December 2024
Past Event
What’s Ahead for Innovators and Creators in the New Trump Administration?
Featured Speakers:
Urška Petrovčič
Brian O’Shaughnessy
Rama Elluru
Andrei Iancu
(Getty Images)
12
December 2024
Past Event
What’s Ahead for Innovators and Creators in the New Trump Administration?

Join 91 for a discussion with renowned intellectual property experts including former United States Patent and Trademark Office Director Andrei Iancu, Dinsmore’s Brian O’Shaughnessy, and the Special Competitive Studies Project’s Rama Elluru. They will explore potential policy changes, challenges, and opportunities for the innovation and creative sectors in the new administration.

(Getty Images)
Featured Speakers:
Urška Petrovčič
Brian O’Shaughnessy
Rama Elluru
Andrei Iancu