The prospect of union between Russia and Belarus |
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Abstract: | Russia has used an economic dispute to pressure Belarus for closer integration. Such integration could provide President Vladimir Putin with an option for retaining power after the end of his term in 2024. The dispute should be understood primarily, however, within the context of Russia’s long-standing attempts to reduce its subsidies to Belarus and its more recent goal, in the light of tensions with the West, of preventing Belarus’s escape from Russia’s orbit. |
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