This has put Lukashenko squarely on the horns of a dilemma. He needs Russia’s money, but his domestic support is based on defending Belarus’s fragile sovereignty. Some would regard the sale of the economy’s “crown jewels” as tantamount to national betrayal, possibly a capital crime. A bombing in the Minsk metro in April that killed 14 and injured hundreds may have been a grim foretaste of the political risks involved.
Certains de ses partisans verraient la vente des fleurons de l’économie bélarusse comme une trahison nationale, voire comme un crime capital. Un attentat dans le métro de Minsk, qui a fait 14 morts et plusieurs centaines de blessés, pourrait être un avant-goût macabre des risques politiques encourus.