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Lukashenko Is ‘Selling Belarus, Piece by Piece, to Russia’

The Belarusian leader may forge a “union state” with Moscow, says former political opponent Andrei Sannikov.

By , a national security and intelligence reporter at Foreign Policy.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, attend a joint press conference in St. Petersburg, Russia, on March 15, 2013.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, attend a joint press conference in St. Petersburg, Russia, on March 15, 2013.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, attend a joint press conference in St. Petersburg, Russia, on March 15, 2013. Alexey Druzhinin/AFP/Getty Images

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed his ambassador to Belarus after months of tension. Mikhail Babich, a former KGB officer, had made a number of controversial comments that provoked the ire of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. The Belarusian Foreign Ministry accused the diplomat of treating Belarus as a district of Russia as opposed to an independent state.

Amy Mackinnon is a national security and intelligence reporter at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @ak_mack

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