Anatoli Mikhailov, rector of the European Humanities University and recipient of the 2007 Ion Ratiu Democracy Lecture award

There were high hopes for Belarus when the Soviet Union dissolved. But Alexander Lukashenko soon began to reinstate authoritarian rule. He saw the country's universities as dangerous threats. Special pressure was brought upon the European Humanities University and it was forced into exile in 2004. Anatoli Mikhailov, the university's rector, describes how EHU continues to represent free speech and democracy even in exile.