People are downvoting, but it def looks like the truth. As a Russian I've been worried about this involvement since the mercenaries were detained.
The level of pressure Putin put on Lukashenko was unbelievable. The ruse was quite transparent: create the Union and put Putin on the throne. L. stood strong and made Putin opt for plan B (constitutional amendments which amounted to a coup).
The measures taken to force Lukashenko's hand were cutting off oil supply (heh, the United States did the same to Japan pre-WWII), stopping imports of Belarusian goods, setting up disadvantageous tax regimes. Ex-ambassador to Belarus Babich was openly insulting Lukashenko, Belarus and after being booted from Minsk was put in charge of anti-Belarusian economic warfare in the Ministry of Economy in Russia.
Gazprom-sponsored candidate (Babariko (sp?)) couldn't make it to the polls, so the decision was made to up the ante.
Let me be clear - I'm not alone - there are many thousands of Lukashenko admirers here in Russia, just yesterday saw a middle-aged man in a mall with a T-shirt and a slogan "he doesn't steal" next to "bat'ka"'s portrait. It would do Russia a lot of good to have Lukashenko in power instead of Putin. Lukashenko's COVID response didn't make much sense, though.
The level of pressure Putin put on Lukashenko was unbelievable. The ruse was quite transparent: create the Union and put Putin on the throne. L. stood strong and made Putin opt for plan B (constitutional amendments which amounted to a coup).
The measures taken to force Lukashenko's hand were cutting off oil supply (heh, the United States did the same to Japan pre-WWII), stopping imports of Belarusian goods, setting up disadvantageous tax regimes. Ex-ambassador to Belarus Babich was openly insulting Lukashenko, Belarus and after being booted from Minsk was put in charge of anti-Belarusian economic warfare in the Ministry of Economy in Russia.
Gazprom-sponsored candidate (Babariko (sp?)) couldn't make it to the polls, so the decision was made to up the ante.
Let me be clear - I'm not alone - there are many thousands of Lukashenko admirers here in Russia, just yesterday saw a middle-aged man in a mall with a T-shirt and a slogan "he doesn't steal" next to "bat'ka"'s portrait. It would do Russia a lot of good to have Lukashenko in power instead of Putin. Lukashenko's COVID response didn't make much sense, though.