Servicemen sit in a tank with a flag of the Wagner Group military company and writing reading “Siberia”,as they guard an area at the HQ of the Southern Military District in a street in Rostov-on-Don,Russia on Saturday.Credit:AP
Lukashenko has kept his country closely tethered to Moscow since the collapse of the Soviet Union,championing the use of the Russian language over Belarus’ native tongue. It’s a marked contrast to neighbouring Ukraine,which has sought to develop a more independent identity and seek closer ties with the West.
Lukashenko,68,has said he regards 70-year-old Putin as his “elder brother”. Indeed,the pair have often feuded like siblings,with Lukashenko insisting he would not allow his nation to be dissolved into Russia.
Relations soured notably in 2020 – ironically,over the Wagner Group. Just weeks before Belarus’ elections,Belarussian authorities arrested 33 Russian citizens who were allegedly Wagner agents. Lukashenko claimed they were in Belarus on a mission to disrupt the elections,while Russia claimed they were merely transiting through the country.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on June 9.Credit:Kremlin via Reuters
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The 2020 elections were marred by widespread fraud,and the opposition claimed to have won up to 70 per cent of the vote. Asprotesters gathered in huge numbers in Minsk,Lukashenko arrived at the presidential palace wearing a bulletproof vest and brandishing an automatic rifle. He remained in power despite the European Union,Britain and the United States refusing to recognise the results.
Putin,by contrast,congratulated Lukashenko on his election “victory” and provided a $US1.5 billion loan to help keep the Belarusian economy afloat.
Lukashenko was now more dependent than ever on Putin,leading him to essentially turn his nation into a Russian vassal state.
Last February,Lukashenko allowed Putin tostage part of his Ukraine invasion from Belarus so that Russian troops had less distance to travel to Kyiv. In March,he agreed to station Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus,leading exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya to warn of the danger of such weapons falling into “the hands of a crazy dictator”.
Crazy is one word for him;canny is another. Putin came to Lukashenko’s aid in his moment of need,and he has returned the favour.
Providing a refuge for a mercenary boss is a small price to pay to ensure that,at least for now,Lukashenko's “big brother” remains safely ensconced in the Kremlin.