This episode explores why and how the Belarusian IT community engaged in the 2020 protests. It provides also the basic characteristics of this community as a social group as well as discusses the significance of the IT sector for the Belarusian economy.

Hosted by: Maciek Makulski

Guest speaker: Aliaksandr Papko, journalist at Belsat TV, Belarusian language independent television channel.

Background readings and source of data:

Open letter of Belarusian IT sector: 2500+ CEO, инвесторов, разработчиков призывают остановить насилие. Открытое письмо | dev.by

https://www.n-ix.com/software-development-eastern-europe-ukraine-vs-belarus/
https://companies.dev.by/
https://minskdialogue.by/research/memorable-notes/kak-it-sektor-belarusi-mozhet-povliiat-na-ee-mezhdunarodnoe-polozhenie
https://software-development-cee-report.com/
https://www.epravda.com.ua/news/2019/02/13/645229/
https://nachasi.com/2019/11/07/it-ukraine/

Kamil Kłysiński, Are reforms unavoidable? Belarus’s economy facing a reduction of subsidies from Russia, OSW Commentary, 2019, https://www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacje/osw-commentary/2019-03-07/are-reforms-unavoidable-belaruss-economy-facing-a-reduction

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This podcast is financed by Solidarity Fund PL within the framework of the Polish development cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland and the grant titled: “In Solidarity with Belarus”. The podcast expresses exclusively the views of the speakers and cannot be identified with the official stance of the Solidarity Fund PL nor the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland.