{"id":11328,"date":"2022-01-11T13:00:04","date_gmt":"2022-01-11T10:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/longreads\/belarusian-peacekeepers-used-in-interests-of-authoritarian-regimes\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","slug":"belarusian-peacekeepers-used-in-interests-of-authoritarian-regimes","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11328\/","title":{"rendered":"Belarusian peacekeepers used in interests of authoritarian regimes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n <span>By Aliaksandr Aliesin <\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p> <span> <\/span><\/p>\n<p>\n <b>Belarusian peacekeepers, originally trained for missions in the Middle East and Africa, landed in Kazakhstan in early January. International troops have been used to secure power transition and solidify Moscow\u2019s influence in the country. <\/b>\n<\/p>\n<p> <b> <\/b><\/p>\n<p>\n\t Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, chairman of the Collective Security Council, announced on January 6 that the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) was sending peacekeepers to Kazakhstan in response to its president\u2019s appeal for help in the face of an alleged external threat to security. Pashinyan cited Article 4 of the Collective Security Treaty as legal grounds for the mission.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t In all, CSTO member states \u2013 the bloc includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan \u2013 have contributed 2,500 troops. Belarus has reportedly deployed up to 300 peacekeepers to guard a military airfield and a depot outside Almaty.\n<\/p>\n<h2> <span>Peacekeeping company<\/span> <\/h2>\n<p>\n\t Belarus formed the peacekeeping company of contract soldiers in 2005. It was initially part of the 120th Mechanized Brigade, and later the unit was transferred to the 103rd Airborne Brigade based in Viciebsk.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Under Belarusian laws, the president has the power to send peacekeepers abroad with their written consent.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The company consists of command staff and two regular platoons \u2013 a training platoon and a peacekeeping platoon \u2013 a total of 100 troops equipped with AKS-74 rifles, PKM machine guns, SVD sniper rifles, PM pistols, night sights, BTR-80 armored vehicles and quad bikes.\n<\/p>\n<h2> <span>Contract soldiers added<\/span> <\/h2>\n<p>\n\t If Belarus sends a mission abroad, up to 200 specially trained contract soldiers are added to the contingent.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Candidates seeking to join the company are required to pass an English test. On joining the company, they take a three-month course at Military Academy that includes international humanitarian law, peacekeeping operations, English, tactics and training to boost morale. Those who pass the final test are assigned to a non-permanent peacekeeping force. The trainees include soldiers, sergeants, warrant officers and commissioned officers.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The non-permanent personnel take part in regular drills and exercises for peacekeepers.\n<\/p>\n<h2> <span>Shift of focus<\/span> <\/h2>\n<p>\n\t The Belarusian military initially trained and equipped peacekeepers for missions in Middle East and African countries with assistance from NATO\u2019s Partnership for Peace program. Peacekeepers were trained based on NATO standards and trainers included instructors from the alliance\u2019s member countries.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t After Belarus signed a treaty governing CSTO peacekeeping operations in 2007, the contingent was assigned to the CSTO regular peacekeeping force. The Kazakhstan mission is indicative of the CSTO\u2019s determination to use the force for defending the ruling regimes of CSTO member states.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Under the treaty, peacekeepers are trained using a uniform program, equipped with the same weapons and take part in regular joint exercises.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Peacekeepers are trained in escorting humanitarian convoys, taking positions in assigned areas of responsibility, maintaining security, providing first aid, patrolling areas, setting up and operating checkpoints, suppressing mass disorder and fighting militants.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The Collective Security Council\u2019s decision to send troops to Kazakhstan has come under fire from opponents of the Belarusian regime. Critics say that troops have been used to suppress protests against Kazakhstan\u2019s authoritarian government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Aliaksandr Aliesin Belarusian peacekeepers, originally trained for missions in the Middle East and Africa, landed in Kazakhstan in early January. International troops have been used to secure power transition and solidify Moscow\u2019s influence in the country. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, chairman of the Collective Security Council, announced on January 6 that the Collective [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[22],"class_list":["post-11328","longreads","type-longreads","status-publish","hentry","rubric-theviewer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Belarusian peacekeepers used in interests of authoritarian regimes | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Aliaksandr Aliesin Belarusian peacekeepers, originally trained for missions in the Middle East and Africa, landed in Kazakhstan in early January.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11328\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Belarusian peacekeepers used in interests of authoritarian regimes | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Aliaksandr Aliesin Belarusian peacekeepers, originally trained for missions in the Middle East and Africa, landed in Kazakhstan in early January.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11328\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-24T20:29:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Pozirk_online\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11328\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11328\/\"},\"headline\":\"Belarusian peacekeepers used in interests of authoritarian regimes\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-01-11T10:00:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-24T20:29:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11328\/\"},\"wordCount\":503,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11328\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11328\/\",\"name\":\"Belarusian peacekeepers used in interests of authoritarian regimes | Pozirk\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-01-11T10:00:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-24T20:29:13+00:00\",\"description\":\"By Aliaksandr Aliesin Belarusian peacekeepers, originally trained for missions in the Middle East and Africa, landed in Kazakhstan in early January.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11328\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11328\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11328\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Belarusian peacekeepers used in interests of authoritarian regimes\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Pozirk\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Pozirk\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Pozirk\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/Pozirk_online\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Belarusian peacekeepers used in interests of authoritarian regimes | Pozirk","description":"By Aliaksandr Aliesin Belarusian peacekeepers, originally trained for missions in the Middle East and Africa, landed in Kazakhstan in early January.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11328\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Belarusian peacekeepers used in interests of authoritarian regimes | Pozirk","og_description":"By Aliaksandr Aliesin Belarusian peacekeepers, originally trained for missions in the Middle East and Africa, landed in Kazakhstan in early January.","og_url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11328\/","og_site_name":"Pozirk","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/","article_modified_time":"2026-02-24T20:29:13+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@Pozirk_online","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11328\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11328\/"},"headline":"Belarusian peacekeepers used in interests of authoritarian regimes","datePublished":"2022-01-11T10:00:04+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-24T20:29:13+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11328\/"},"wordCount":503,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization"},"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11328\/","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11328\/","name":"Belarusian peacekeepers used in interests of authoritarian regimes | Pozirk","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"2022-01-11T10:00:04+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-24T20:29:13+00:00","description":"By Aliaksandr Aliesin Belarusian peacekeepers, originally trained for missions in the Middle East and Africa, landed in Kazakhstan in early January.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11328\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11328\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11328\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Belarusian peacekeepers used in interests of authoritarian regimes"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/","name":"Pozirk","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization","name":"Pozirk","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"Pozirk"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/","https:\/\/x.com\/Pozirk_online"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/longreads\/11328","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/longreads"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/longreads"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"rubric","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rubric?post=11328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}