Last Updated January 06, 2009
Belarus’ hard man turns to IMF for help
Belarus’ Soviet-style government is struggling to cope with the credit crunch, and is trying to make friends with the west, including seeking a US$2bn emergency loan from the IMF. But negotiations with the fund are not proving easy.
In the 1990s, while the rest of eastern Europe underwent the agonies of liberalisation and privatisation, Belarus dug in its heels and refused to change.
