{"id":64522,"date":"2024-02-01T21:39:34","date_gmt":"2024-02-01T18:39:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/?post_type=longreads&p=64522"},"modified":"2024-02-01T21:39:36","modified_gmt":"2024-02-01T18:39:36","slug":"kremlin-tightens-deadly-grip-on-belarus","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/64522\/","title":{"rendered":"Kremlin tightens deadly grip on Belarus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka and Russian President Vladimir Putin seem to enjoy the best spell in their relationship. Moscow appreciates its last ally, and Minsk is happy that Russian markets and logistics are saving its economy.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n \"\"\n
\n \n
\n (pexels.com \/ Ray Bilcliff)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But Minsk is paying for it by tying Belarus tighter to Russia. At a meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State in St. Petersburg on January 29, officials approved 15 papers listing specific measures to implement the Union State Treaty in 2024-26. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What officials call integration is actually Moscow\u2019s effort to tighten its deadly grip on Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two leaders claim to fight Nazis<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On Saturday, \u0141uka\u0161enka and Putin attended celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the end of Nazi siege of Leningrad. Both rulers use the war theme to justify aggressive policies, pretending to wage a holy war against Nazis in the West and in Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“They are sharpening their swords on our borders today to come at us. They are coming at us again to make us better,” \u0141uka\u0161enka said on January 27 at a requiem concert in St. Petersburg in a reference to the West, the United States in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking at the meeting of the Supreme State Council, the Belarusian ruler said that the root cause of conflicts “in various places on the world map” is “the reluctance of the current monopolist [USA] to give up its positions,” its resistance to a multipolar world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it was not the US that attacked Ukraine or orchestrated Hamas’ attacks on Israel. In fact, during the Second World War, the US was one of the decisive powers in the anti-Hitler coalition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka and Putin are currently trying to present their confrontation with democracies as the fight against modern modifications of Nazism, but to no avail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although people from all Soviet republics fought against the Nazis, the Russian president seemed to have invited only \u0141uka\u0161enka to the anniversary events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kremlin has issues with many leaders of other post-Soviet countries, including Kazakhstan and Armenia. No matter how much the Belarusian ruler urged the Collective Security Treaty Organization members to stand united with Russia in its war against Ukraine, they refused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In St. Petersburg, \u0141uka\u0161enka mourned the innocent victims of the Second World War, remembered the mothers and children who died then, but did not say a word about Ukrainian mothers and children who died at the hands of Russians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And when he said that “we will preserve our civilization” it sounded like “we will preserve our regimes.” The system based on lack of freedom, suppression of individuality, intimidation and, in the case of Russia, chauvinistic frenzy, is that special precious civilization that the two autocrats want to preserve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kremlin\u2019s grip<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In St. Petersburg, \u0141uka\u0161enka and Putin boasted of record growth in bilateral trade. Minsk has long since abandoned its earlier strategy of diversifying foreign economic ties. But until 2020, the Belarusian ruler himself had advocated this concept, seeing it as a means of reducing dependence on Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The empire is still there, still trying to absorb Belarus, but \u0141uka\u0161enka can hardly wriggle out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2019, sensing the imperial threat, he rejected integration roadmaps proposed by Moscow. Back then he still dared to resist. But in 2021, he signed 28 union programs, the same rebranded roadmaps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officials approved a new three-year integration package in St. Petersburg. Instead of roadmaps or programs, it contains 11 sections, but the essence is the same – Moscow is absorbing the Belarusian economy bit by bit, as well as its political and humanitarian sectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka is no longer on the fence. He only cautiously noted, “We have not yet fully decided on the most important issues. These are the creation of common markets for gas, oil and petroleum products.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moscow had promised to establish those markets a long time ago, but apparently the two countries are not there yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By and large, \u0141uka\u0161enka has no reason to complain as long as Russia sells him cheap energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The biggest problem is that these ties are based on personal connections. If there were common markets, \u0141uka\u0161enka would not need to bow and beg. But the Kremlin prefers to keep its ally on a short leash. Minsk receives cheap natural gas but if it fails to comply with Moscow\u2019s wishes it will raise the price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What more Moscow needs<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka is not making any more dramas; he is forced to agree to almost everything and already owes the “big brother” a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Putin’s support largely determined the outcome of the 2020 standoff between the government and opposition in Belarus, when \u0141uka\u0161enka was wobbling. When the West imposed sanctions, Moscow came to his rescue again offering market access and logistical support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, new niches have opened up. For example, Intehra\u0142 microchips are now in great demand in Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka said that he and Putin discussed “the military-industrial complex,” in particular “what systems we’re going to develop, taking into account the bitter experience of the special military operation.” He could not resist poking fun at \u201cthe second strongest army in the world” for its failures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In general, the Belarusian ruler has even benefited from the war – Moscow has never been so generous and kind to him. But the downside is that Belarusian sovereignty is shrinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the upcoming elections in Belarus on February 25 and the Russian presidential election on March 17 \u0141uka\u0161enka said, “I am sure that we will approach these dates quietly and hold these events just as quietly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka and his cronies are ramping up their rhetoric, talking about threats, enemies and plots, preparing for the elections as if for a world war. They need the atmosphere of a besieged fortress to justify their insane brutality, including the recent arrests of relatives of political prisoners in Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But perhaps the most important message from \u0141uka\u0161enka is that both autocrats are holding their peoples firmly by their throats, so no one will dare to resist and that the Russian ruler will be re-elected and \u0141uka\u0161enka will surely formalize his reelection a little later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recent speculations that Putin may finally dump \u0141uka\u0161enka, force him to give up power, replace him with Natalla Ka\u010danava or Siarhiej Rumas, or even fill the All-Belarusian People’s Assembly with his agents to bring down the incumbent, do not hold water. \u0141uka\u0161enka is more useful and cooperative than ever. Whereas before Moscow used to issue ultimatums or even cut off oil and gas to make Minsk more accommodating, now \u0141uka\u0161enka has no room for maneuver. The regime is surrendering Belarus’ sovereignty as fast as the Kremlin has never expected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka and Russian President Vladimir Putin seem to enjoy the best spell in their relationship. Moscow appreciates its last ally, and Minsk is happy that Russian markets and logistics are saving its economy. But Minsk is paying for it by tying Belarus tighter to Russia. At a meeting of the Supreme State Council of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":63790,"template":"","rubric":[14,22],"class_list":["post-64522","longreads","type-longreads","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-politics","rubric-theviewer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nKremlin tightens deadly grip on Belarus | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka and Russian President Vladimir Putin seem to enjoy the best spell in their relationship. Moscow appreciates its last ally, and Minsk\" \/>\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\/64522\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kremlin tightens deadly grip on Belarus | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka and Russian President Vladimir Putin seem to enjoy the best spell in their relationship. Moscow appreciates its last ally, and Minsk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/64522\/\" \/>\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=\"2024-02-01T18:39:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/krokodil_1128_pexels-com_ray-bilcliff.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1128\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"752\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\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=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/64522\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/64522\/\"},\"headline\":\"Kremlin tightens deadly grip on Belarus\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-01T18:39:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-01T18:39:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/64522\/\"},\"wordCount\":1116,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/64522\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/krokodil_1128_pexels-com_ray-bilcliff.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/64522\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/64522\/\",\"name\":\"Kremlin tightens deadly grip on Belarus | Pozirk\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/64522\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/64522\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/krokodil_1128_pexels-com_ray-bilcliff.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-01T18:39:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-01T18:39:36+00:00\",\"description\":\"Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka and Russian President Vladimir Putin seem to enjoy the best spell in their relationship. Moscow appreciates its last ally, and Minsk\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/64522\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/64522\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/64522\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/krokodil_1128_pexels-com_ray-bilcliff.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/krokodil_1128_pexels-com_ray-bilcliff.jpg\",\"width\":1128,\"height\":752,\"caption\":\"\u0418\u043b\u043b\u044e\u0441\u0442\u0440\u0430\u0446\u0438\u044f: pexels.com\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/64522\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Kremlin tightens deadly grip on Belarus\"}]},{\"@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":"Kremlin tightens deadly grip on Belarus | Pozirk","description":"Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka and Russian President Vladimir Putin seem to enjoy the best spell in their relationship. Moscow appreciates its last ally, and Minsk","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\/64522\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Kremlin tightens deadly grip on Belarus | Pozirk","og_description":"Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka and Russian President Vladimir Putin seem to enjoy the best spell in their relationship. Moscow appreciates its last ally, and Minsk","og_url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/64522\/","og_site_name":"Pozirk","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/","article_modified_time":"2024-02-01T18:39:36+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1128,"height":752,"url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/krokodil_1128_pexels-com_ray-bilcliff.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@Pozirk_online","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/64522\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/64522\/"},"headline":"Kremlin tightens deadly grip on Belarus","datePublished":"2024-02-01T18:39:34+00:00","dateModified":"2024-02-01T18:39:36+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/64522\/"},"wordCount":1116,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/64522\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/krokodil_1128_pexels-com_ray-bilcliff.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/64522\/","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/64522\/","name":"Kremlin tightens deadly grip on Belarus | Pozirk","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/64522\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/64522\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/krokodil_1128_pexels-com_ray-bilcliff.jpg","datePublished":"2024-02-01T18:39:34+00:00","dateModified":"2024-02-01T18:39:36+00:00","description":"Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka and Russian President Vladimir Putin seem to enjoy the best spell in their relationship. Moscow appreciates its last ally, and Minsk","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/64522\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/64522\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/64522\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/krokodil_1128_pexels-com_ray-bilcliff.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/krokodil_1128_pexels-com_ray-bilcliff.jpg","width":1128,"height":752,"caption":"\u0418\u043b\u043b\u044e\u0441\u0442\u0440\u0430\u0446\u0438\u044f: pexels.com"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/64522\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Kremlin tightens deadly grip on Belarus"}]},{"@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\/64522","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\/15"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"rubric","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rubric?post=64522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}