ABSTRACT
Belarus is a small country, but small countries can still set records. Belarus remains the only European state which has not joined the Bologna Process, which aims at the creation of a single European space for university education. The Belarusian bureaucracy is large and composed of two sizeable groups, Soviet-era bureaucrats and supporters of the Belarusian president, many of whom come to the capital from the deep provinces of the country. The relationship between the EU and Belarus was institutionalized in 1994 when both parties signed the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, and sanctions were first imposed on Belarus as soon as 1996. Belarus's President Lukashenka is in a dual position: on one hand, it is he who is effectively responsible for the economic survival of his country by obtaining subsidies from Russia; on the other, he is the guarantee that there will not be 'too much Russia' in Belarus.
