The Belag Archipelago, a new RFE/RL’s Belarus Service podcast, delves into how Belarus is gradually evolving into a prison state under Lukashenka’s rule. Over seven episodes we will explore all the circles of the Lukashenka’s regime punitive system - detention, administrative incarceration, investigation, house arrests, forced labor settlements, transfers, colonies, prisons, and life under surveillance on release. Our guides include former political prisoners, ex-security officials, human rights defenders, and Nobel laureate Svetlana Alexievich.
This episode is dedicated to the third circle of hell - most famous pre-trial detention centers in Minsk, the so-called “Valadarka” and “Amerykanka” (the KGB ‘inner’ prison).