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Last year Lukashenko (Belarus president) forced a plane flying over Belarus (from Greece to Lithuania) to land there to arrest a dissident who was criticizing h
by 323 5y ago
Last year Lukashenko (Belarus president) forced a plane flying over Belarus (from Greece to Lithuania) to land there to arrest a dissident who was criticizing him on board.
Outraged EU imposed sanctions on Belarus, who was forced then to turn to Russia for support.
Now Russia is calling the favor back and forcing him to send troops to Ukraine, which he doesn't want, both because it's a very unpopular move in Belarus, and also because it's pretty clear now that he'll incur heavy losses.
Lukashenko never wanted to be a Russia puppet, but it's funny how his decision to arrest a dissident at any cost basically lead to his country annexation by Russia, which he tried to prevent for 30 years.
Now there are a few more pieces to this story, like the previous elections in Belarus that he blatantly stole, and the fact that Russia was going to submit Belarus one way or the other anyway, but the fact remains that that one small decision greatly accelerated the process. Butterfly effect.
- Brian_K_White 5y agoExamples of this kind of full circle should be taught in schools.
- rich_sasha 5y agoLukashenko has been flirting with Russia all his life. He has no popular support, and the only thing keeping him in office all these years was his eastern neighbour. For a long time now, sanctions or no sanctions, his raison d’être has been being Putin’s puppet, and now he is called to the blackboard. Indeed he seems to have no enthusiasm for it, and has been trying to pull on his leash for years, but whenever push comes to shove, Russia pulls on the lead and Lukashenko obediently follows.
- opo 5y agoThis video of Lukashenko complaining in an interview that Putin had promised to make him a colonel in the Russian army is pretty strange. The interviewer can't stop laughing and Lukashenko starts getting upset: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JNtiO7nhmo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JNtiO7nhmo