Minsk, Belarus
The Belarusian ambassador to Japan, whose term ended two weeks ago, refuses to return to Belarus. Pyotr Krauchanka was Belarus’ foreign minister in the early 1990s, but clashed with authoritarian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka over the disbanding of the legislature. Still, he got an ambassadorial appointment and served in Japan for the full four-year term. The day he was supposed to hand in his official papers, though, he simply didn’t show up at the embassy. Former colleagues were envious. “One hundred percent of the Foreign Ministry personnel dream of going as far away from Minsk as possible,” former deputy foreign minister Andrei Sannikau told Radio Free Europe. “It is impossible to work for an agency that operates as a propaganda rather than a diplomatic office.” Belarus is an extremely poor country run by a Soviet-style dictator.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Murdoch's conservative son wins succession battleSpeed Read Lachlan Murdoch will get control over the media empire that includes Fox News and The Wall Street Journal following his father's death, while his siblings will receive payouts
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to TrumpSpeed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raidsSpeed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
