{"id":11511,"date":"2022-12-13T14:54:56","date_gmt":"2022-12-13T11:54:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/longreads\/merkels-experience-proves-lukasenka-understands-only-language-of-strength\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","slug":"merkels-experience-proves-lukasenka-understands-only-language-of-strength","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11511\/","title":{"rendered":"Merkel\u2019s experience proves \u0141uka\u0161enka understands only language of strength"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n By Alaksandr Frydman, BPN<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka lashed out at Angela Merkel, Germany\u2019s former chancellor, when talking to reporters on the sidelines of an international forum in Bishkek. He was angered by her remark that Ukraine had struck the 2015 Minsk deal to buy some time to prepare for Russia\u2019s imminent assault.<\/span><\/b>\n<\/p>\n

Global ambitions<\/h2>\n

\n\t \u0141uka\u0161enka, who has been in power since 1994, has seen four presidents change in the United States, seven prime ministers in the UK and three federal chancellors in Germany.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t After nearly three decades in office, he does not plan to step down and considers himself to be superior to Western leaders who come and go.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s political ambitions have never been limited to Belarus. In the 1990s, his opponents said, he was dreaming of succeeding Boris Yeltsin and viewed Belarus as a springboard. His initiatives to establish a commonwealth (1996), a union (1997) and a union state (1999) were seen as part of the effort.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t The plan was unrealistic even in the late 1990s. The Belarusian leader abandoned it after Vladimir Putin was elected as president in Russia.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Anyway, \u0141uka\u0161enka has always sought to meddle in international affairs. His best chance came in 2015, when Minsk was selected as a venue for talks between Ukraine and Russia (pro-Russian separatists). In February 2015, Merkel and Francois Hollande, the French president at the time, moderated the signing of the Minsk agreements.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Before the Minsk talks, \u0141uka\u0161enka was perceived as Europe\u2019s last dictator notorious for his habit of using outrageously abusive language to mock European politicians.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t He managed to improve his reputation by taking a neutral stance on Ukraine during Minsk\u2019s thaw with the West between 2015 and 2020. He even paid an official visit to Austria in November 2019.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t However, his image declined dramatically after the disputed 2020 presidential election, followed by the forced landing of a Ryanair flight in Minsk, the 2021 migration crisis and Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. These developments and \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s role have been extensively covered in the Western media. \n<\/p>\n

Belarusian leader’s perception of collective West<\/h2>\n

\n\t \u0141uka\u0161enka frequently makes public statements about international politics, and some of his ideas smell of conspiracy theories. State media outlets portray him as a political long-liver, a wise statesman and a key player in global affairs.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t In his public statements, \u0141uka\u0161enka emphasizes his admiration for communist China (as a future superpower), pledges loyalty to Russia (as an influential older brother and sponsor of his regime) and shows respect for authoritarian leaders, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Azerbaijani President Alham Aliyev.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t As for the collective West, \u0141uka\u0161enka makes a distinction between the United States and the UK and EU. He respects Washington as his powerful enemy. He views the UK and EU as Washington\u2019s puppets.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Rudeness and verbal abuse is \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s style of communication. It is characteristic of his mentality and outlook shaped during the Soviet era.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t \u0141uka\u0161enka has governed Belarus, a country at the center of Europe, for nearly three decades. Most of that period he was targeted by Western sanctions, including restrictions on entry and top-level contacts. He has a very vague idea of how the Western world works. He does not speak foreign languages and has never spent a long time abroad. He knows little about Europe\u2019s culture and lifestyles.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t His mentality was shaped by the Soviet environment and ideology as he worked as a professional propaganda officer. During those years, NATO made the decision to deploy nuclear weapons to Western Europe, while Soviet propaganda portrayed European leaders as Washington\u2019s submissive puppets.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Still, \u0141uka\u0161enka has never verbally abused Merkel until recently. He usually discussed her in a neutral manner or with some respect.\n<\/p>\n

Merkel understands mentality of leaders of Belarus, Russia<\/h2>\n

\n\t Merkel spent 16 years in her job and was widely regarded as Europe\u2019s most influential politician. \u0141uka\u0161enka and Vladimir Putin treated her with caution and respect because of her political longevity and international recognition.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Coalition governments led by Merkel tended to look over the shoulder at the Kremlin, taking a hand-off approach to Belarus as a sphere of Russia\u2019s interests.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Merkel avoided direct contacts with the Belarusian leader until 2015. In December 2010, the German and Polish foreign ministers made a failed attempt to draw Belarus closer to the EU\u2019s camp. \n<\/p>\n

\n\t The most recent thaw between Belarus and the EU began after the German president visited Belarus in June 2018 to open a memorial at the former death camp Maly Tra\u015bcianiec. Incidentally, \u0141uka\u0161enka has never been in Berlin on a state visit.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t In August 2020, Merkel phoned \u0141uka\u0161enka in a failed attempt to resolve the political crisis. He refused to talk.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t One year later, she phoned him at the peak of a migrant crisis at the EU-Belarusian border. A tough and pragmatic negotiator, she persuaded the Belarusian ruler to relocate migrants from a makeshift border camp a few kilometers deeper into Belarus and facilitate their return to home countries.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Belarusian propaganda often recalls the 2015 talks in Minsk, but prefers not to revisit the 2021 direct negotiations between Merkel and \u0141uka\u0161enka.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t During her tenure, Merkel was the only West European politician who understood the mentality and views of the Belarusian and Russian rulers. Merkel, Putin and \u0141uka\u0161enka are politicians of the iron-curtain generation. She viewed East Germany as a violent regime and as a period of oppression and missed opportunities, whereas \u0141uka\u0161enka and Putin have preserved their Soviet mentality and remain nostalgic for years when they were young Soviet guys.\n<\/p>\n

Do like Merkel, do better than Merkel!<\/h2>\n

\n\t In his official messages to the peoples of Western countries and public appearances, \u0141uka\u0161enka reiterates his readiness to rebuild bilateral ties. Although Minsk is a co-aggressor, he claims to be striving for peace and somewhat distances himself, at least verbally, from Russia\u2019s military campaign and territorial gains in Ukraine.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t If Western countries, EU states in the first place, ever consider talks with \u0141uka\u0161enka, Merkel\u2019s experience in addressing the 2021 migrant crisis can help.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t A tough stance and a language of strength is something that he understands and is willing to deal with. A language of compromises only encourages him to step up intimidation and gamble. The West\u2019s formula for success should be, \u201cDo like Merkel, do better than Merkel!\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\t  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Alaksandr Frydman, BPN Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka lashed out at Angela Merkel, Germany\u2019s former chancellor, when talking to reporters on the sidelines of an international forum in Bishkek. He was angered by her remark that Ukraine had struck the 2015 Minsk deal to buy some time to prepare for Russia\u2019s imminent assault. Global ambitions \u0141uka\u0161enka, who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[22],"class_list":["post-11511","longreads","type-longreads","status-publish","hentry","rubric-theviewer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMerkel\u2019s experience proves \u0141uka\u0161enka understands only language of strength | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Alaksandr Frydman, BPN Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka lashed out at Angela Merkel, Germany\u2019s former chancellor, when talking to reporters on the sidelines of an\" \/>\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\/11511\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Merkel\u2019s experience proves \u0141uka\u0161enka understands only 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