A union state under the leadership of the Kremlin Secret Kremlin Document: Russia Plans Gradual Takeover of Belarus
Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at a meeting in St. Petersburg last year
© Mikhail Metzel/Sputnik Kremlin/AP/DPA
According to several media outlets, an internal Kremlin document describes Russian President Vladimir Putin’s plans to integrate neighboring Belarus within the next seven years.
According to a media report, Russia apparently wants to gradually integrate the neighboring country of Belarus by 2030. This is indicated by a document from the Presidential Administration in Moscow, which the NDR, WDR and “Süddeutsche Zeitung” say they have evaluated along with nine other media outlets.
Accordingly, it seems that the strategists of Kremlin President Vladimir Putin want to infiltrate Belarus politically, economically and militarily. The goal is to establish a common union state under Russian leadership, the media reported, citing the document. Efforts to create a union state have been going on since 1999, but until now it is not clear to what extent Russia has defined its role in it. Until now, the union has always been presented as a merger for the benefit of both parties. On the other hand, the documents being evaluated now concerned exclusively the application of Russian interests.
It seems that Russia wants to secure its influence
Western security services reportedly believe the 17-page internal Kremlin document is authentic. The paper, which is titled “Strategic Objectives of the Russian Federation in Belarus,” appears to date back to the summer of 2021. According to reports, it lists Russia’s strategic goals in Belarus in the areas of politics/defence, trade, economy and society, and in the short term (until 2022) and medium term (until 2025) and the long term (2030).
Moscow’s strategic goal is, among other things, “to ensure the dominant influence of the Russian Federation in the spheres of social policy, trade, economy, science, education and culture.” She added that the constitutional reform that was approved in Belarus last February will be completed according to Russian conditions, and the laws will be “aligned” with those of the Russian Federation. At the same time, the Kremlin wants to fend off Western influence and create a bulwark against NATO.
“In its external form, the document resembles a standard document of the Russian bureaucracy or political administration,” said Martin Cragg, deputy director of the Stockholm Center for Eastern European Studies (SCEEUS). The content is “largely in line with Russia’s political goals towards Belarus since the 1990s”.
Several Western intelligence agencies presented with the paper also reportedly believed it to be credible. The newspaper “Sueddeutsche Zeitung” quoted a high-ranking intelligence official as saying that “the content of the document is completely reasonable and corresponds to what we imagine as well.” The strategy paper should be seen as part of Putin’s larger plan: the creation of a new Great Russian Empire.
