Olga Birukova

Olga Birukova is a member of the Exiled Journalists Network, the Bristol-based group supported by the NUJ that offers help and support to colleagues in exile in the UK. She formerly worked as fixer in Belarus for various BBC outlets.

Belarus election: probably no change at the top

Is the December presidential election going to be more of the same? Lukashenka has been president for 16 years, but this time he is playing at democracy. Could his game get the better of him? Olga Birukova fears probably not, but a recent survey might be cause for hope.

By Olga Birukova

/ 29 Nov 2010

Daring to speak out in Belarus

A chilling account of brave journalists in Lukashenka’s Belarus, so many of whom die in unexplained circumstances. Olga Birukova hopes that Western PR gurus and journalists will not be taken in by official statements or the KGB-controlled picture of society in Belarus.

By Olga Birukova

/ 28 Oct 2010