{"id":11557,"date":"2023-04-17T11:40:32","date_gmt":"2023-04-17T08:40:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/longreads\/belarusian-russian-alliance-of-authoritarian-leaders\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","slug":"belarusian-russian-alliance-of-authoritarian-leaders","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11557\/","title":{"rendered":"Belarusian-Russian alliance of authoritarian leaders"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n <span>By Valeryj Karbalevi\u010d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n <b><span>Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka, at his April 10 meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, said that Moscow should provide Belarus full security guarantees. Minsk has apparently agreed to host Russian nuclear weapons, which will require additional protection from Russia.<\/span><\/b>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Shoigu traveled to Minsk days after his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.\n<\/p>\n<h2>Minsk agrees to host Russian military base<\/h2>\n<p>\n\t The Russian defense minister made it clear that Russia plans to increase its military presence in Belarus, but neither Minsk nor Moscow have publicly disclosed any details of the arrangement. In late March, Putin announced that Russia would site tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, noting that a special storage facility would be completed before July 1.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Sergei Naryshkin, Russia\u2019s foreign intelligence chief, had visited Minsk days before Shoigu\u2019s visit and Putin\u2019s security talks with \u0141uka\u0161enka.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Russia has been using five Belarusian ranges for training its draftees with around 500 Belarusian trainers said to be involved. Moscow is moving closer to setting up a permanent base for its forces in Belarus.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t \u0141uka\u0161enka had opposed the establishment of Russian bases before the new Russian invasion of Ukraine. He only gave his consent to the operation of joint combat training centers for pilots and missile system operators.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Russian troops arrived in Belarus months before the war and have always been present there since then.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t When Russia deploys its nuclear weapons in Belarus, the storage facility is likely to be guarded and controlled by Russian forces. Will officials call it a military base? This is just a question of terminology.\n<\/p>\n<h2>Why \u0141uka\u0161enka needs additional security guarantees<\/h2>\n<p>\n\t Shoigu discussed technicalities of the nuclear arrangement with \u0141uka\u0161enka in Minsk.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t In any case, Minsk has less of a say on Belarus\u2019 military policy as it becomes more and more dependent on Moscow.&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t It is unclear what additional security guarantees \u0141uka\u0161enka is looking for. The Collective Security Treaty and Union State Treaty already require the two countries to help each other repel armed attacks from third parties.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The Belarusian ruler has raised concern about alleged threats from NATO and Ukraine. He seems to be preparing his country for war.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t On the other hand, he should worry that the nuclear storage facility would expose Belarus to possible retaliation strikes targeting Russia.\n<\/p>\n<h2>Questions remain unanswered<\/h2>\n<p>\n\t Several question marks are hanging over the nuclear deal. Why does Belarus need nuclear weapons that do not make it more secure but require additional security guarantees from Moscow? If \u0141uka\u0161enka is aware that Russian nuclear weapons are an additional threat to security, why has he approved the deployment? Did the Kremlin ask him for consent or just presented with the fact?\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Officials close to \u0141uka\u0161enka do not seem to know the answers to these questions. He deals only with Putin.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Belarusian-Russian dealings seem to involve only the two authoritarian leaders. The Belarusian-Russian Union is not an alliance of states or regimes. It is a private union of the two rulers. The Russian people is a hostage to Putin\u2019s political ambitions. Belarus is just a toy for the two leaders guided by their personal political interests.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Stakes are high as Moscow considers nuclear strikes a realistic prospect. Shoigu\u2019s visit was just one more practical step in that direction. The price of \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s rule is getting higher.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Valeryj Karbalevi\u010d Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka, at his April 10 meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, said that Moscow should provide Belarus full security guarantees. Minsk has apparently agreed to host Russian nuclear weapons, which will require additional protection from Russia. Shoigu traveled to Minsk days after his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Minsk [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[24],"class_list":["post-11557","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-Russian alliance of authoritarian leaders | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Valeryj Karbalevi\u010d Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka, at his April 10 meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, said that Moscow should provide Belarus\" \/>\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\/11557\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Belarusian-Russian 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