History UsefulNotes / Belarus

** Prime Minister: Sergey Rumas

Now to acknowledge the biggest elephant in the room - in 2020, following a rigged Presidential election where Lukashenko claims to have won a sixth term in, Belarus has become absolutely engulfed in pro-Democracy protests. Outsider pundits are characterizing it as the last stage of the USSR's dissolution. Part of it stems from the fact the Leading opposotion candidate du jour, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, abandoned the traditional schtick of advocating for an explicitly pro-[[UsefulNotes/TheEuropeanUnion European Union]] and -{{UsefulNotes/NATO}} policy and instead focused on the Lukashenko government's nonexistent handling of the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic and fear of being swallowed up by Russia under the auspices of the Russian-Belarusian union[[note]]Turns out that, since the balance of power in the union would be heavily lopsided towards Russia, the Belarusian population is just as averse to the union as Lukashenko is.[[/note]]. This allowed her to successfully rally even Lukashenko's traditional base to her side - which itself means a) she probably would have won had the elections been free and fair and b) most of the country cared enough about her loss to take their grievance to the streets. Lukahensko, in his turn, responded by heavy-handed repression against the mostly-peaceful protestors and [[CharacterCheck snapping back to his old Russophilia]], knowing full well that the Western governments he was previously trying to court would rather see Tsikhanouskaya in charge[[note]]The Kremlin has been having a field trip with this - not only does it allow it to frame the protest movement as pro-Western despite Tsikhanouskaya's assurances that she has no hard feelings against Russia and just wants to democratize the country (the fact one the countries most sympathetic to the protestor's cause is Lithuania, which is not only tied to Belarus via the Grand Duchy of Lithuania but is also one of the most pro-American nations in Europe, doesn't help), but also because Lukashenko, now embattered and hated by his people, would be much more open to actually following through on the promised Russian-Belarusian union.[[/note]]. Only time will tell what lies next for Belarus.

Now to acknowledge the biggest elephant in the room - in 2020, following a rigged Presidential election where Lukashenko claims to have won a sixth term in, Belarus has become absolutely engulfed in pro-Democracy protests outsider pundits are characterizing as the last stage of the USSR's dissolution. Part of it stems from the fact the Leading opposotion candidate du jour, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, abandoned the traditional schtick of advocating for an explicitly pro-[[UsefulNotes/TheEuropeanUnion European Union]] and -{{UsefulNotes/NATO}} policy and instead focused on the Lukashenko government's nonexistent handling of the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic and fear of being swallowed up by Russia under the auspices of the Russian-Belarusian union[[note]]Turns out that, since the balance of power in the union would be heavily lopsided towards Russia, the Belarusian population is just as averse to the union as Lukashenko is.[[/note]]. This allowed her to successfully rally even Lukashenko's traditional base to her side - which itself means a) she probably would have won had the elections been free and fair and b) most of the country cared enough about her loss to take their grievance to the streets. Lukahensko, in his turn, responded by heavy-handed repression against the mostly-peaceful protestors and [[CharacterCheck snapping back to his old Russophilia]], knowing full well that the Western governments he was previously trying to court would rather see Tsikhanouskaya in charge[[note]]The Kremlin has been having a field trip with this - not only does it allow it to frame the protest movement as pro-Western despite Tsikhanouskaya's assurances that she has no hard feelings against Russia and just wants to democratize the country (the fact one the countries most sympathetic to the protestor's cause is Lithuania, which is not only tied to Belarus via the Grand Duchy of Lithuania but is also one of the most pro-American nations in Europe, doesn't help), but also because Lukashenko, now embattered and hated by his people, would be much more open to actually following through on the promised Russian-Belarusian union.[[/note]]. Only time will tell what lies next for Belarus.