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Crossing Continents: Belarus's university in exile

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Belarus's university in exile

25/04/2013

BBC Radio 4 - Crossing Continents, Belarus's university in exile

Inside the Belarusian university which escaped repression by moving to Lithuania.

Lucy Ash visits the European Humanities University, a unique institution which has escaped the repression of Belarus by moving across the border to neighbouring Lithuania.

Belarus has been described as the last dictatorship in Europe. Few dare speak out against President Alexander Lukashenko and his ruling elite. But the opposition has found a way of making its voice heard through an academic community which has taken refuge abroad. 

Lucy Ash visits the European Humanities University which teaches Belarusian students on its campus in neighbouring Lithuania. She talks to teachers and students, many of whom commute back and forth across the border. Is the EHU devoted to intellectual freedom and training future leaders of Belarus or is it a "trampoline for emigration" to the west?

Producer: Tim Mansel.

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