The alliance between Moscow and Dictator Lukashenko

The worsening crisis in Belarus is serving as an excuse for Russian President Vladimir Putin to expand his influence in the former Soviet nation. The European country has been in turmoil since the re-election of Lukashenko, the president who has led it with an iron fist since 1994. An autocrat in the old style, he forbids freedom of expression, impedes the functioning of democratic institutions, indiscriminately arrests and tortures opponents, and defrauds elections in order to eternalize himself in power. This is what happened on the 9th. The European leaders criticised, the United States kept quiet, but the Russian leader did not miss an opportunity to defend the dictator.

The alliance between Moscow and President Lukashenko is indissoluble. With the advance of the crisis in recent days, Putin has reaffirmed that he will fulfill all his obligations and contracts, as well as guarantee Lukashenko's military protection. He did not express concern about the reports of torture and the extreme aggressiveness of the police against the demonstrators. Putin is acting because Belarus serves as a buffer between the European Union - read the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) - and Russia. Moreover, more than 60% of Belarus' exports go to Moscow, and 40% of imports come there. The main item traded is oil, which the Russians sell in gross, subsidised form and buy refined products from Belarus. There is an important oil and gas pipeline system linking the two nations.