Igor Eidman: Russia is ready to replace Lukashenka

Putin wants to make away with a Belarusian dictator for a long time.

Russian sociologist Igor Eidman stated that in the article “Moscow 2015: between crisis and war” published on his Facebook page.

“Putin may have other tactical targets. Failures in Ukraine may make him capable of showing aggression toward other countries to compensate his image against the train wreck with the “New Russia” adventure. Perhaps Belarus is to be the next Putin’s target following Ukraine. I think Russia has long been ready for the replacement of Lukashenka and the Anschluss of the country. The Belarusian dictator has been treating Putin impudently and has been rude to him. Definitely, Putin would like to replace him and finally perform his long idea to create the union state of Russia and Belarus under his guidance. Meanwhile, he knows that the West won’t stand for such an odious person as Lukashenka”, he points out.

The sociologist emphasizes that this does not annul his plans to attack Ukraine.

“In 2015 Putin’s administration will try to change the situation: not only to save the seized territory but also to continue its attack. Russia’s political line will include the combination of imaginary concessions to the West and attempts to blackmail them. As it was before, every time aggressive actions on Putin’s strategic targets realization will follow the imaginary concessions. They will be the revenge for being defeated in the Cold War period and Russian hegemony in the Post-Soviet territory. This is the strategy: two steps forward making one step back. It irreversibly causes further conflict with every new step in this confrontation. Every piece of the imaginary concession is followed by more vicious attack and the threat of war is gaining strength”, Eidman writes.