The Eastern European Studies Center and the Belarus Research Council hold a live panel discussion entitled “What Belarusians Think?” to analyse the freshest results of national public opinion poll carried out by the Independent Institute for Socio-Economic and Political Studies (IISEPS) by Belarus’ leading pollsters and analysts.

Online streaming of the discussion will be available on the January 18, 2013 (Friday) starting at 11.45 at websites of IISEPS (iiseps.org) and Belarus Digest (belarusdigest.com).

Moderator:  Valeriy Karbalevich, Radio Free Europe/Radio Svaboda

Presenter:  Professor Oleg Manaev, Independent Institute for Socio-Economic and Political Studies

Discussants:

Alexei Pikulik, Belarus Institute for Strategic Studies

Elena Korestelva, University of Kent

Sergey Nikoluk, Independent Institute for Socio-Economic and Political Studies

Bio Notes

Dr. Valeriy Karbalevich is a journalist and political scientists in Belarus. He is an expert at the Center “Strategy” and works for the Radio Free Europe/Radio Svaboda.  He is the author of the book Alexander Lukashenka: Political Portrait (2010).

Prof. Oleg Manaev is a Founder of the IISEPS, Founding Professor of the Department of Social Communication at the Belarus State University (1999-2012), Professor of the Department of Media and Communication at EHU (since October 2012), and a Chairman of the Belarus Soros Foundation (1992-1995). He published 200 scholarly articles and edited/authored 20 books on problems of media, public opinion, political process and civil society development in Belarus.

Dr. Elena Korosteleva is a Professor of International Politics at the University of Kent. Until August 2012 she was Jean Monnet Chair and Director of the Centre for European Studies at Aberystwyth University. Elena Korosteleva is an academic researcher and expert focusing on the politics of Belarus and Europe, democratisation, European Neighbourhood Policy, European Neighbourhood and Partnership Initiative and Eastern Partnership.

Dr. Alexei Pikulik is the academic director of BISS. He received Ph.D in Political and Social Science in European University Institute, Florence. His research interests include political economy of reforms, political economy of oil, economic regulation. Since 2006 he teaches at European Humanities University in Vilnius and since 2010 at the European University in Saint-Petersburg.   Sergey Nikolyuk is a pollster at IISEPS. With a background in science he became more and more involved in political science after 2000. Mr. Nikolyuk is an adherent of Russian school of sociology and political science.