Lukashenko 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 neigh

Lukashenko 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.