Alexei Dzermant is a Belarusian champion of closer amalgamation with Russia and the author of the upcoming book “Belarus-Eurasia: Borderland of Europe and Russia”. “There is one thing the white-red-whites ought to be appreciated for,” he writes, “Their active role in this political crisis has facilitated Belarusian-Russian integration”. “White-red-whites” refers to the current protesters in Belarus who widely exhibit the country’s previous flag with those respective colors. While Dzermant’s formula disregards some essential causal links, it deftly summarizes the hitherto evolution of the situation of Belarus: the magnitude of anti-regime protest has been unprecedented and, as a side effect, Russia is more of an ultimate decision-maker in Belarus than ever before since 1991.
OP-ED
Grigory Ioffe: Belarus at Moscow’s mercy all over again
An activist places a picture of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko during a rally in support of anti-government protests in Belarus against presidential election results, in front of the Belarusian embassy in Kyiv, on August 30, 2020.
