DrThe so-called union state between Russia and Belarus, which Moscow and Minsk want to fill with life under Thursday’s agreement, is a strange construction. Officially, it has been around since 1999, but it has always been an engine of political ambitions. At first it should Alexander LukashenkoWho has been in power in Minsk since 1994, is targeting the presidency of Russia. But the ailing incumbent at the time, Boris Yeltsin, chose Vladimir Putin as his successor.
For a long time there was calm about the State of the Union. Until the Kremlin began to think carefully about how to do it put it in The remainder administers in the presidency until after 2024, contrary to the term limits set forth in the Constitution at that time. One of the options discussed is for Putin to be at the helm of the Russian-Belarusian entity, thus canceling his term, so to speak, so that he can continue to rule in a new “greater Russian” position. Moscow took the lead at the end of 2018 and pressured Lukashenko to “deepen integration” in tried and tested ways – above all oil and gas prices and the prospect of new loans. Lukashenko was writhing and resisting and standing up to Putin.