{"id":11443,"date":"2022-07-04T13:40:36","date_gmt":"2022-07-04T10:40:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/longreads\/lukasenka-annoyed-by-his-reputation-as-putins-puppet\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","slug":"lukasenka-annoyed-by-his-reputation-as-putins-puppet","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11443\/","title":{"rendered":"\u0141uka\u0161enka annoyed by his reputation as Putin\u2019s puppet"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n <span>By Valeryj Karbalevi\u010d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t * Reproduction prohibited\n<\/p>\n<p>\n <b>After more than 25 years in power, the Belarusian strongman is struggling to prove his ability to govern and dispel fears of Belarus\u2019 absorption by Russia. He faces a daunting task as Russia maintains its military presence after a failed attempt to capture Kyiv.<\/b>\n<\/p>\n<h2> <span>Belarus seen as Russia\u2019s military base<\/span> <\/h2>\n<p>\n\t The NATO heads of state and government urged Belarus to end its complicity in the Russian war against Ukraine. NATO sees the military alliance between Minsk and Moscow as a major challenge.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Belarusian-Russian military integration accelerated considerably after Russia assaulted Ukraine in February.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Minsk fiercely resisted attempts by Moscow to encroach on Belarus\u2019 military sovereignty before.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t It took the countries long to set up a common regional air defense system. In 2015, the Belarusian leader flatly rejected Moscow\u2019s plan to set up a Russian airbase in Belarus as he asserted his power to fully control the country\u2019s military.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t He started to cede ground after his disputed re-election in 2020 as he made concession after concession in exchange for Moscow\u2019s political support that was crucial for his political survival. In the run-up to the February 24 assault, Russian troops frequently conducted military exercises in Belarus. Russia set up two military training centers in the neighboring country that were widely seen as prototypes of military bases.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Military rapprochement reached threatening proportions in February 2022. Russian troops that arrived in Belarus for maneuvers marched on Kyiv instead of leaving for Russia. Belarus offered Russian forces infrastructure, airfields, fuel and territory for attacks on Ukraine.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Minsk and Moscow have not signed any agreements to legalize the presence of the Russian troops. It is unclear whether Russian generals informed Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka of their plans involving Belarusian infrastructure. The Belarusian leader admitted early into the war that he had learned about the assault from Belarusian territory from the media.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t He has never voiced any concern about the use of Belarusian territory. Despite the complacency, he keeps stressing the inviolability of Belarus\u2019 sovereignty.\n<\/p>\n<h2> <span>Officials may question boss\u2019s status<\/span> <\/h2>\n<p>\n\t \u0141uka\u0161enka has been annoyed by statements and media reports that have cast doubt on his ability to control what is going on in his country.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t At his June 30 meeting with Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, he dismissed speculation that Vladimir Putin \u201chas seized Belarus\u201d and \u201cdoes whatever he wishes\u201d here. \u201cWe have a coordinated and wise polity of two sovereign states in place . . . We must keep our powder dry across the board,\u201d he stressed.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t \u201cI am hearing all the time that absorption is tomorrow, incorporation is tomorrow . . . Thirty years have passed. They have not incorporated, absorbed or taken away anything,\u201d he went on to say.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t \u201cHonestly, we have received everything we need for our sovereign independent state from Russia.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t It is a bad sign that he has to convince others of his ability to act independently, dismiss claims that Putin rules in Belarus and that Belarus has not been absorbed yet.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t His explanations may give rise to doubts, including among officials, about his ability to govern the country.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t &nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Valeryj Karbalevi\u010d * Reproduction prohibited After more than 25 years in power, the Belarusian strongman is struggling to prove his ability to govern and dispel fears of Belarus\u2019 absorption by Russia. He faces a daunting task as Russia maintains its military presence after a failed attempt to capture Kyiv. Belarus seen as Russia\u2019s military [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[24],"class_list":["post-11443","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>\u0141uka\u0161enka annoyed by his reputation as Putin\u2019s puppet | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Valeryj Karbalevi\u010d * Reproduction prohibited After more than 25 years in power, the Belarusian strongman is struggling to prove his ability to govern\" \/>\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\/11443\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u0141uka\u0161enka annoyed by his reputation as Putin\u2019s puppet | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Valeryj Karbalevi\u010d * Reproduction prohibited After more than 25 years in power, the Belarusian strongman is struggling to prove his ability to govern\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11443\/\" \/>\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=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11443\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11443\/\"},\"headline\":\"\u0141uka\u0161enka annoyed by his reputation as Putin\u2019s puppet\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-07-04T10:40:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-24T20:29:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11443\/\"},\"wordCount\":518,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11443\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11443\/\",\"name\":\"\u0141uka\u0161enka annoyed by his reputation as Putin\u2019s puppet | Pozirk\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-07-04T10:40:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-24T20:29:13+00:00\",\"description\":\"By Valeryj Karbalevi\u010d * Reproduction prohibited After more than 25 years in power, the Belarusian strongman is struggling to prove his ability to govern\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11443\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11443\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11443\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u0141uka\u0161enka annoyed by his reputation as Putin\u2019s puppet\"}]},{\"@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":"\u0141uka\u0161enka annoyed by his reputation as Putin\u2019s puppet | Pozirk","description":"By Valeryj Karbalevi\u010d * Reproduction prohibited After more than 25 years in power, the Belarusian strongman is struggling to prove his ability to govern","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\/11443\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u0141uka\u0161enka annoyed by his reputation as Putin\u2019s puppet | Pozirk","og_description":"By Valeryj Karbalevi\u010d * Reproduction prohibited After more than 25 years in power, the Belarusian strongman is struggling to prove his ability to govern","og_url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11443\/","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":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11443\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11443\/"},"headline":"\u0141uka\u0161enka annoyed by his reputation as Putin\u2019s puppet","datePublished":"2022-07-04T10:40:36+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-24T20:29:13+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11443\/"},"wordCount":518,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization"},"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11443\/","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11443\/","name":"\u0141uka\u0161enka annoyed by his reputation as Putin\u2019s puppet | Pozirk","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"2022-07-04T10:40:36+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-24T20:29:13+00:00","description":"By Valeryj Karbalevi\u010d * Reproduction prohibited After more than 25 years in power, the Belarusian strongman is struggling to prove his ability to govern","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11443\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11443\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11443\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u0141uka\u0161enka annoyed by his reputation as Putin\u2019s puppet"}]},{"@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\/11443","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=11443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"rubric","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rubric?post=11443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}