Radio Free never accepts money from corporations, governments or billionaires – keeping the focus on supporting independent media for people, not profits. Since 2010, Radio Free has supported the work of thousands of independent journalists, learn more about how your donation helps improve journalism for everyone.

Make a monthly donation of any amount to support independent media.





Minsk Sees Fifth Protest Over Closer Relations With Russia

Around 100 Belarusians protested in downtown Minsk on December 29 against the prospect of deeper relations with Russia, the fifth such demonstration in the past month.

The protesters held a noontime march from October Square to Independence Square and formed a human chain near the main post office.

Uniformed police were deployed but did not intervene against the demonstrators.

A previous demonstration in December saw multiple arrests.

The gathering, in subfreezing temperatures, appeared to attract slightly fewer participants than the previous demonstrations, one of which attracted upward of 1,000 people.

The unsanctioned rallies were prompted by a fresh round of talks early this month between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka that coincided with the 20th anniversary of a 1999 union treaty that was supposed to create a unified state.

The talks hit a snag that Lukashenka explained by saying he was merely seeking “equal terms” in mutual relations.

Minsk is heavily reliant on Moscow for cheap oil and billions in annual subsidies to prop up its Soviet-era economy.

Moscow has pressured Minsk to accelerate military and economic integration.

There have been signs that Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and its subsequent support for armed separatists in eastern Ukraine spooked Lukashenka and spurred his government to scale back its dependence on Russia.

Based on reporting by RFE/RL’s Belarus Service
Print
Print Share Comment Cite Upload Translate Updates

Leave a Reply

APA

Radio Free | Radio Free (2019-12-29T19:45:09+00:00) Minsk Sees Fifth Protest Over Closer Relations With Russia. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2019/12/29/minsk-sees-fifth-protest-over-closer-relations-with-russia/

MLA
" » Minsk Sees Fifth Protest Over Closer Relations With Russia." Radio Free | Radio Free - Sunday December 29, 2019, https://www.radiofree.org/2019/12/29/minsk-sees-fifth-protest-over-closer-relations-with-russia/
HARVARD
Radio Free | Radio Free Sunday December 29, 2019 » Minsk Sees Fifth Protest Over Closer Relations With Russia., viewed ,<https://www.radiofree.org/2019/12/29/minsk-sees-fifth-protest-over-closer-relations-with-russia/>
VANCOUVER
Radio Free | Radio Free - » Minsk Sees Fifth Protest Over Closer Relations With Russia. [Internet]. [Accessed ]. Available from: https://www.radiofree.org/2019/12/29/minsk-sees-fifth-protest-over-closer-relations-with-russia/
CHICAGO
" » Minsk Sees Fifth Protest Over Closer Relations With Russia." Radio Free | Radio Free - Accessed . https://www.radiofree.org/2019/12/29/minsk-sees-fifth-protest-over-closer-relations-with-russia/
IEEE
" » Minsk Sees Fifth Protest Over Closer Relations With Russia." Radio Free | Radio Free [Online]. Available: https://www.radiofree.org/2019/12/29/minsk-sees-fifth-protest-over-closer-relations-with-russia/. [Accessed: ]
rf:citation
» Minsk Sees Fifth Protest Over Closer Relations With Russia | Radio Free | Radio Free | https://www.radiofree.org/2019/12/29/minsk-sees-fifth-protest-over-closer-relations-with-russia/ |

Please log in to upload a file.




There are no updates yet.
Click the Upload button above to add an update.

You must be logged in to translate posts. Please log in or register.