Aliaksandar Lukashuk

“The Belarus Matrix: How the Politics of Memory Holds Off a Democratic Future”

Mr. Aliaksandar Lukashuk is a Belarusian media manager, journalist, and author who most recently served as director of the Belarus service for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). He also worked as director of the RFE/RL Afghan service from 2004 to 2005, and as acting executive editor of RFE/RL from 2007 to 2008. He has produced documentaries and published books on the history of Belarus, including the 2017 book Oswald in Minsk. Mr. Lukashuk’s work has received multiple awards, including the 2017 Ales Adamovich Award from the Belarusian PEN Center, the U.S. Agency for Global Media’s David Burk Award for Distinguished Journalism in 2011, and the 2014 Communicator Award from the U.S. Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts. His English-language writings have appeared in American Purpose, the Hoover Digest, and East European Constitutional Review. During his fellowship, Mr. Lukashuk is examining the politics of memory and the conflict between democratic and totalitarian views in the current context of Belarus. He plans to share his perspectives in a Belarusian- and Russian-language podcast series and an English-language essay.