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Episode details

World Service,25 Apr 2013,25 mins

The Belarusian University in Exile

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Belarus is often 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 in neighbouring Lithuania. Lucy Ash visits the European Humanities University and 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? (Image of the Lithuanian capital Vilnius which has provided a welcome refuge for the European Humanities University, forced out of its former home in Belarus. BBC Copyright)

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