"Lukashenka Speaks About Joining Russia After Meeting With Master"

It is possible, that Putin suggested to the dictator that they should hold a "referendum."

Lukashenka said during his trip to the Shklou district, that if there was a failure in the economy, "we will have to join some state."

Yauhen Afnagel, one of the leaders of the Belarusian National Congress, the coordinator of the civil campaign European Belarus, commented on the odious statement of the dictator to the site Charter97.org:

– The dictator once again demonstrated that the Belarusian statehood is not a value for him. But if at the beginning of his reign he was ready to sacrifice it for his dream of the Kremlin, today the rates are much lower.

This strange statement is a consequence of the last meeting between Lukashenka and Putin. Most likely, it was not very pleasant for the Belarusian ruler. It is possible, that there were talks about liquidation of even that formal independence which we have now and, for example, about holding a referendum on Belarus joining Russia in the near future. This scenario looks like a logical result of Lukashenka's policy. He has been banning national symbols, liquidating education in the Belarusian language, sweeping the political field and destroying independent media for 20 years. As the result: Putin is the most popular politician in Belarus today. It is logical that he will take advantage of this. This is why Lukashenka started talking about joining Russia after meeting with his master.

Naturally, Lukashenka cannot reject the "offer" of his master. The statement that came out the day before yesterday can be both an ordinary "Freudian slip of tongue" and an attempt to shift responsibility for the loss of independence to officials, whom the dictator has repeatedly blamed for all his mistakes.

– What would happen after a ruler in a democratic state made such a declaration?

– Such statements of the representative of the authorities are absolutely impossible in a democratic state. Lukashenka can afford such statements, because his rating has nowhere to fall. The reaction of people also does not bother him much, because there is no real election in Belarus. But it is precisely this – the loss of connection with the reality – that has always pulled the rug out from under dictators. Maybe the Belarusians will forgive Lukashenka for decades of humiliation and dictatorship some day, but they will never forgive the loss of the country's independence and the involvement of Belarus in armed conflicts. And I am absolutely sure that there will be people who will defend independence in all possible ways.