Why Does President Putin Continue To Support Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko?

Kremlin.ru  

Kirill Rogov, Moscow Times: How Lukashenko Became a Bone in Putin’s Throat 

Belarus’s deepening political isolation makes it easier but also more expensive for Moscow to control Lukashenko. 

The only the thing the public has been told about the recent five-hour meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is that Putin invited his guest to go swimming and that Lukashenko promised to show his host some documents he carried in his grandfather’s phoney carpet bag. 

 The whole thing was a photo op for voters of the same retirement age in both “fraternal” countries. It was an attempt to impress them with the two leaders braving the elements, with five hours of supposedly fruitful talks and a carpet bag from which Lukashenko could magically retrieve documents revealing “the true situation” the same way Marry Poppins could fantastically pull floor lamps and furnishings from hers.   

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WNU Editor: I regard Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko as a lost cause. His support now only comes from governmental officials who owe their positions to him, and the security forces who are paid to do what they do. The financial backer for this circus is the Kremlin, doling out a few billion each year to keep the loyalty of its dictator and the lights on. 

My prediction. 

As long as it only costs a billion or two to keep some semblance of control over Lukashenko, the Kremlin is not going to change its policy. This is regrettable and IMHO a long term strategic mistake. The ties between the people of Belarus and Russia have a  long history that is deep and friendly. But this support of Lukashenko by the Kremlin will destroy this bond, and will create serious national security and political problems in the future. And on top of all of that. Russians en masse hate Lukashenko. Which makes Putin's actions and policy moves even more regrettable.

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