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 Belarus |  Russia |
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| Embassy of Belarus, Moscow | Embassy of Russia, Minsk |
Belarus andRussia share aland border and constitute thesupranationalUnion State. Several treaties have been concluded between the two nations bilaterally. Russia is Belarus' largest and most important economic and political partner. Both are members of variousinternational organisations, including theCommonwealth of Independent States, theEurasian Economic Union, theCollective Security Treaty Organization, and theUnited Nations.
Belarus underAleksander Lukashenko has been described by Western observers and pro-democracy activists in Belarus as being aclient,[a]puppet,[b]satellite[c] orvassal state[d] of RussiaunderVladimir Putin.
After theSoviet Union collapsed, the newly formed Russian state tried to maintain control over the post-Soviet space by creating, on 8 December 1991, a regional organization – theCommonwealth of Independent States (CIS). However,Belarus, as other republics in the CIS, started to drift away fromRussia, which at that time was attempting to stabilize its broken economy and ties withthe West.[24]
In the early 1990s, Russia was concerned that its involvement in thenear abroad state such as Belarus would risk the relations it was trying to build with the West. However, asNATO began to expand eastward, Russia found itself in a difficult situation. On one hand, it was facing a breakup of the large geopolitical bloc it had once controlled. On the other, it felt that the West was trying to isolate it from the European environment by picking up the pieces of its former empire. This led to the increasing importance of good relations with Belarus.[25]
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 Byelorussian SSR |  Russian SFSR |
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In the mid-1990s and especially withAlexander Lukashenko coming to power in July 1994, Belarus seemed an ideal candidate for integration with Russia.
In order to implement theTreaty on the Creation of the Economic Union, on 6 January 1995 Russia and Belarus concluded an Agreement on abilateral Customs Union. The Parties stated that certain results have been achieved within the framework of the Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Belarus on the Unified Procedure for Regulation of Foreign Economic Activities signed on 12 April 1994 in Moscow. The Agreement on customs union between Russia and Belarus entered into force on 30 November 1995.[26] After that, customs and border controls were abolished. On 26 May 1995, Belarusian PresidentAlexander Lukashenko and Russian Prime MinisterViktor Chernomyrdin dismantled the border post at theBelarus-Russia border.[27][28]
Russian PresidentBoris Yeltsin said after signing, in February 1995, the Treaty of Friendship, Good-Neighborliness and Cooperation with Belarus, that "the two nations [had] shared a common historical experience over many centuries". That, he declared, had "created the basis for signing the treaty and other documents on deeper integration of our two countries. Among all CIS countries, Belarus has the greatest rights to such a relationship due to its geographical location, its contacts with Russia, our friendship and the progress of its reforms."[29]
The integration process was launched on 2 April 1996 and exactly a year later, the Union of Belarus and Russia was founded. The culmination of this process was the establishment of a Union State between the RF and Belarus on 8 December 1999.[30] TheTreaty on Equal Rights of Citizens between Belarus and Russia was signed in December 1998, coveringemployment, and access tomedical care andeducation.
AfterVladimir Putin took office he expressed his deep dissatisfaction with the status of the relations with Belarus and criticized the 1999 treaty, the policy he had set was to put real content into this treaty. His proposal was to continue in the unification either in a federation model which meant that Belarus would join the Russian Federation or build a union which is similar to theEuropean Union. However, Belarus refused and the status quo was maintained.[31]
Despite that, the strategic value of Belarus seemed to continue to rise for Russia because of the international developments. These activities included the United States military activity in the post-Soviet space since theSeptember 11 attacks in 2001, the eastern European states shift towards the west, the plans to deployNATO'smissile defense system in Poland or the Czech Republic, and above all the rise of thecolour revolutions. As a result, despite setbacks in political and economic integration, the military-integration processes between the two states continued.[32]
As Russia realized that a full integration with Belarus would be costly, it shifted its foreign policy towards a more pragmatic direction. Two major goals were distinguishable in this policy — The first was to reduce the economic burden which Belarus laid on its economy and the second was to take over the energy transit infrastructure in Belarus. These two goals have influenced most of the conflicts andGas Wars between the two countries.[citation needed]
In 1995, the border of Russia with Belarus was destroyed. However, in 2014, the border was restored from the Belarusian side. In turn, Russia in February 2017 created a border zone on the part of theSmolensk oblast.[33]
Since 2014, following years of embrace of Russian influence in the country, Lukashenko has pressed a revival of Belarusian identity after the start of theRusso-Ukrainian War: theRussian annexation of Crimea andmilitary intervention in Eastern Ukraine. For the first time, he delivered a speech inBelarusian (rather than Russian, which most people use), in which he said, “We are not Russian — we are Belarusians,” and later encouraged the use of Belarusian. Trade disputes, a border dispute, and a much relaxed official attitude to dissident voices are all part of a weakening of the longtime warm relationship with Russia.[34]
On 14 September 2017 Belarusian and Russian relations were back to normal with both conducting military drills.[35][36][37]
In 2019, Lukashenko had bilateral talks inSochi with Russian presidentVladimir Putin and declared that their two countries "could unite tomorrow, no problem."[38] An idea backed by Putin for years, observers have labeled the potential plan a scheme by Putin to remain in power beyond 2024.[39] However, political scientist Mikhail Vinogradov explained that "Lukashenko will play tough to the public while trying to look weak in front of Putin," and theCarnegie Moscow Center's Artyom Shraibman suggested that "Moscow will most likely fail to find its base among Belarusians."[40]
On 24 January 2020, signs of new tensions between Belarus and Russia showed when Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko publicly accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of trying to incorporate Belarus into Russia.[41] This led to Russia cutting economic subsidies for Belarus.[42]
In July 2020, the relationship between Belarus and Russia was described as "strained" after 33 Russian military contractors were arrested in Minsk.[43] Lukashenko afterwards accused Russia of trying to cover up an attempt to send 200 fighters from a private Russian military firm known as theWagner Group into Belarus on a mission to destabilize the country ahead of its 9 August presidential election.[44]
On 5 August 2020, Russia's security chiefDmitry Medvedev warned Belarus to release the contractors.[42] Lukashenko also claimed Russia was lying about its attempts to use the Wagner Group to influence theupcoming election.[45]
Following the presidential election and eruption of newprotests, Lukashenko mentioned by the end of August that Belarus would negotiate refinancing of its state debt worth $1bn with Russia.[46] On 14 September, Lukashenko visited Putin inSochi, where the latter promised to loan $1.5bn to Belarus.[47]
In February 2022, Russian forces were permitted tostage part of the invasion of Ukraine from Belarusian territory.[48] Lukashenko stated that Belarusian troops could take part in the invasion if needed.[49] Belarus has also stated that Russia can bring its nuclear weapons onto Belarusian soil.[50] In March 2022,Oleksandr Kamyshin, head ofUkrainian Railways, said there is no longer a railway connection between Ukraine and Belarus, so Russian equipment from Belarus will not be able to be delivered.[51] On 25 March 2023, Russian president Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would be stationing tactical nuclear operations in Belarus.[52] On 12 August 2024, Alexander Lukashenko refuted the idea about unification with Russia, stating that any attempt to annex Belarus would result in war.[53]
As of 2009, Russia accounted for some 48% of Belarus' external trade. Belarus, in turn, accounted for around 6% of Russia's trade.[54]
Before 2004,Gazprom sold gas to Belarus for Russian domestic prices, mainly due to the political integration process between the two countries. As this process started to falter in the 2000s and late 1990s, Gazprom wanted to ensure reliable transit of Russian gas through Belarusian territory by taking control of the Belarusian transit network. Gazprom tried to purchase the Belarusian network operatorBeltransgaz, but disagreements over the price led to the2004 Russia–Belarus gas dispute, in which Gazprom ceased supplies to Belarus on 1 January 2004.[55]
A new gas contract was signed in June 2004, and relations between the two countries improved afterwards. In January 2020 Russia temporarily suspended its discounted sale of oil to Belarus, and later negotiated a compromise. Belarus diversified its oil imports in response, receiving oil from countries including Norway, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia, and the United States. Lukashenko accused Russia of using the oil as leverage to procure an eventual merger of Russia and Belarus.[55]
In 2009, a serious diplomatic row erupted between the two countries. President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko accused Russia of offering a $500 million loan on the condition that Belarus recognizeAbkhazia andSouth Ossetia, but added that the position of Belarus was not for sale. Lukashenko has declared that Belarusian citizens must abide by Georgian laws when traveling to the two regions, and the Foreign Ministry has stated that all Belarusian citizens must use points of entry on the Georgian side. Lukashenko declared that instead of Russia, Belarus should "look for happiness in other parts of the planet". Commenting on the close military cooperation between the two countries, Lukashenko likened Belarus' 10 million people as a human shield for Russia against the West, a service that he said "was not free".[54]
In July 2009, the so-calledMilk War erupted, when Russia banned all dairy imports from Belarus, saying that they did not comply with new regulations. Belarus accused Russia of employing the ban for political purposes, while Russia denied that the ban was political. Russia soon lifted the ban and Belarus resumed deliveries of dairy products to Russia.[54]
However, a new dispute arose when Russia claimed that Belarus owed $231 million for gas supplies it had used since the start of the year. Belarus threatened to introduce Border and Customs control on its border with Russia, and refused to attendCollective Security Treaty Organization talks inMoscow. In an interview, President Lukashenko questioned the necessity of diplomatic relations with Russia, since Russia is "blockading" Belarus.[54]
On 31 May 2012, Russian President Vladimir Putin was critical of theEuropean Union's sanctions against Belarus, and in a joint statement Putin and Lukashenko said:
"Russia and Belarus will coordinate efforts to counter attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of the Union State and apply pressure through the introduction of restrictive measures or sanctions."
Russia and Belarus have close military relations and are engaged in various joint military-scientific activities.[56] Russia also operates several military bases and radars in Belarus which includes theHantsavichy Radar Station an early warning radar which is run by theRussian Aerospace Defence Forces and theVileyka VLF transmitter.[citation needed]
As result of the2014 Ukraine crisis, Russia sought to replace Ukrainian defense ties with Belarus.[57] On 14 September 2017, Belarusian and Russian relations were back to normal with both conducting military drills.[35][58][37]
Belarus has an embassy inMoscow.[59] as well as branches in:Kaliningrad,Smolensk,St.Petersburg,Rostov-on-Don,Nizhny Novgorod,Kazan,Ufa,Yekaterinburg,Novosibirsk,Krasnoyarsk andKhabarovsk.[60]
Russia has an embassy inMinsk and a consulate-general inBrest.[61]
| Belarus Republic of Belarus be:Рэспубліка Беларусь ru:Республика Беларусь | Russia Russian Federation Российская Федерация | |
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| Flag & Coat of arms |  .svg) |   |
| Population | 9,408,400 | 144,386,830 (excludingCrimea and otheroccupied territories) |
| Area | 207,595 km2 (80,153 sq mi) | 17,098,246 km2 (6,601,670 sq mi) |
| Population Density | 45.8/km2 (118.6/sq mi) | 8.4/km2 (21.8/sq mi) |
| Government | Unitarypresidential constitutional republic | Federalsemi-presidential constitutional republic |
| Capital |  Minsk – 2,020,600 |  Moscow – 12,506,468 |
| Largest City | ||
| Official language | Belarusian Russian | Russian |
| Current Head of Government | Prime MinisterAlexander Turchin (2025–present) | Prime MinisterMikhail Mishustin (2020–present) |
| Current Head of State | PresidentAlexander Lukashenko (1994–present) | PresidentVladimir Putin (1999–2008, 2012–present) |
| Main religions | 48.3%Russian Orthodox Church in Belarus 41.1%Non-religious 7.1%Roman Catholic 3.3% Other religions | 71%Russian Orthodox Church 15%Non-religious 10%Islam 4% Other religions |
| Ethnic groups | 83.7%Belarusians 8.3%Russians 3.1%Poles 1.7%Ukrainians 3.2% Other | 80.9%Russians 3.9%Tatars 1.4%Ukrainians 1.1%Bashkirs 12.7%Other |
| GDP (nominal) | $63.582 billion $6,744per capita | $1.702 trillion $11,601per capita |
| GDP (PPP) | $200.089 billion $21,223per capita | $4.135 trillion $28,184per capita |
| Currency | Belarusian rubel (Rbl) – BYN | Russian rouble (₽) – RUB |
| Human Development Index | 0.817 (very high) – 2017 | 0.824 (very high) – 2017 |
| Expatriates | 706,992Russians in Belarus | 521,443Belarusians in Russia |
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