1.  Locate Belarus on a map of Europe.  Name the capital and list the countries that border Belarus.2.  What event caused people to protest in Belarus this week?  What do they hope to achieve with their protests?

3.  Who is Alexander Lukashenko?  What kind of a leader is he?  How do the U.S. and the European Union describe Mr. Lukashenko?

4.  How was President Lukashenko able to run for a third term?  How does he defend his re-election?  How does Mr. Lukashenko's defense differ from the Washington Times reporter's description of the election?

5.  What statement did White House spokesman Scott McClellan make about the election in Belarus?
[NOTE:  The White House Press Secretary ("spokesman") is a senior White House official with a rank one step below Cabinet level. The Press Secretary is the primary spokesperson for the Administration.  Responsibilities include giving the official position of the Administration (the President and his Cabinet) on the news of the day, as well as answering questions from the press corps in briefings and press conferences.]

6.  List the types of sanctions that the U.S. and the E.U. might impose on Belarus if President Lukashenko does not allow a free and fair election.

7.  Belarus' opposition leaders hope to achieve a new fair election by leading peaceful protests, just as two other former Soviet republics, Georgia and Ukraine did.  In Georgia's 2003 Rose Revoultion and in Ukraine's 2004/05 Orange Revolution, hundreds of thousands of people protested, following the disputed results of their respective elections.  Compare those numbers with the number of protesters who rallied in Belarus.  Why might the numbers in Belarus be so much smaller?  Explain your answer.