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Belarus's university in exile

How the Belarus government targets independent higher education by threatening students.

In Belarus, new legislation from the government of President Alexander Lukashenko targets anyone who might be regarded as an opponent with charges of being ‘extremist’. Dozens of independent media outlets have recently been designated as ‘extremist organisations’ in the country, as the government cracks down on dissent. But the Belarus government isn’t only targeting media outlets. It’s taking aim at a wide variety of groups and organisations, including a well-respected Belarus university, the European Humanities University, which since 2005 has been based in the apparent safety of Lithuania. But recently, students, staff and their families have begun to be visited by Belarus's security service, the KGB. Ä¢¹½¶ÌÊÓÆµ Russian's Alina Isachenka has been investigating.

The custom of men being married to more than one person at the same time, known as polygamy, is practised in many parts of the world, particularly across the African continent. It's traditionally rooted in cultural, social, and economic values across various tribes in different regions, such as the Zulu in South Africa, a country where polygamous marriage is legally recognised. Now, a new hit Zulu language TV series, The Polygamist, has got people discussing the topic. Ä¢¹½¶ÌÊÓÆµ Africa reporter Khanisile Nkobho has been following the issue. 

This episode of The Documentary comes to you from The Fifth Floor, the show at the heart of global storytelling, with Ä¢¹½¶ÌÊÓÆµ journalists from all around the world.

(Photo: Faranak Amidi. Credit: Tricia Yourkevich)

Presenter: Faranak Amidi
Producer: Laura Thomas, Caroline Ferguson and Hannah Dean

Available now

27 minutes

Last on

Mon 20 Jul 2026 02:32GMT

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