Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Reuters
As a rule of thumb, the leader of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, has long tried to have it both ways. He has worked to gain both the approval and support of Russian President Vladimir Putin, while also trying to maintain independence from Russia and keep up ties with the Western world.
It’s a delicate balancing act that he has navigated for years. But in the last several weeks, his ability to master the balancing act—and keep Putin at bay—seems to have all but disappeared, Lukashenko watchers and former diplomats who have worked with him tell The Daily Beast.
“He seems to think he has the option to cozy up to the West again, like he did in 2014. That option is gone forever, as far as I can tell,” Scott Rauland, the former chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Belarus, told The Daily Beast. “He’s kinda stuck. He can’t say no to Putin now.”