Publication

A Russian proposal to deepen economic integration in post-Soviet areas aims to prevent individual countries from cooperating more closely with the European Union or from taking part in alternatives to Russian integration projects. For Belorussian authorities, this proposition is attractive because it is associated with immediate economic benefits and unlike the EU's offer does not require the democratization of the political system. However, the final acceptance of the Russian proposal by Belorussian authorities will lead to even greater economic and political subordination of the country by its eastern neighbor.