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1/25/2025 Belarusian Elections Poised Amid Intensifying NATO-Russia Tensions By: Kayla Popuchet & Christopher HelaliRead NowBelarus is set to hold its national elections on January 26, 2025, in a climate fraught with geopolitical tension. As the Russian Special Military Operation (SMO) continues unabated and Russian-EU-NATO relations plunge to historic lows, the spotlight is on Belarus, a nation also known as "White Russia." Its steadfast alliance with the Russian Federation, and the state's consolidation of major industries, have made it a focal point of criticism from liberal regimes within the EU-NATO. The elections come at a particularly volatile moment for the Eastern European and Central Asian regions. Recent developments include the controversial annulment of Calin Georgescu's election by Romania's Constitutional Court—Georgescu being a vocal critic of NATO and Western liberal democracies. Meanwhile, Georgia is grappling with a burgeoning "color revolution" targeting Mikhail Kavalashvili, the Georgian President of the Georgia Dream Party. Both Georgescu and Kavalashvili have been labeled by their detractors as agents of Russian President Vladimir Putin, further inflaming anti-Russian rhetoric among pro-EU liberals. Against this backdrop, the Belarusian elections are shaping up to be not just a domestic affair but a key event in the broader struggle for influence in the region, with global implications for the emergence of a multipolar world.  2025 Candidates for President in Belarus. Source: https://rec.gov.by/uploads/files/Pdf/2024/kandidaty2025.pdf On December 18, 2024, the U.S. Department of State issued a Level Four travel advisory for Belarus, urging American citizens to leave the country immediately. The advisory highlighted concerns over an impending state of "civil unrest" and recommended seeking consular assistance in neighboring NATO countries. This warning was issued the same day the official candidates for the upcoming elections were announced, with five candidates in the race, including the incumbent Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. The advisory reflects the escalating concerns about political instability and the potential for unrest in the region, adding a possible warning sign of Western interference in the Belarusian democratic process.  Source: U.S. Department of State Opposition figure and self-proclaimed "President-in-Exile," Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, has called on her supporters to boycott the vote, which bears striking similarities to strategies previously employed by pro-NATO factions in nations like Georgia, Ukraine, and Venezuela. This recurring tactic involves urging electoral boycotts, preemptively declaring fraud in the face of likely defeat, and orchestrating widespread protests to challenge the legitimacy of the elected government. The earliest examples of this included the Western backed, funded, and trained Otpor (later CANVAS) in Yugoslavia in the 1990s. This approach highlights a well-documented pattern utilized by leaders aligned with Western interests to undermine opposing regimes. The use of the National Endowment of Democracy by the United States to facilitate regime change was even documented by the Chinese government. To fully comprehend the likely criticisms that will emerge from the opposition following the election, one must first examine the structural framework of Belarus’s government and the operational mechanics of its electoral process, which in turn helps to shed light on the narratives likely to dominate the post-election discourse. Understanding Belarus’s Government Structure The President Often described as the "last Soviet-style republic," Belarus has retained many of the centralized processes it inherited from the Soviet era, with a strong emphasis on executive authority. Its political system, defined by the 1994 Constitution and subsequently amended through referenda, combines executive, legislative, and judicial elements. However, the presidency remains the central force in Belarusian governance. The President oversees the implementation of domestic and foreign policy and acts as the guarantor of the Constitution, national independence, and territorial integrity. The role allows for some legislative oversight, allowing the holder to issue decrees and edicts that, under certain conditions, hold the force of law. The President can also appoint key officials, including the Prime Minister (with parliamentary approval), judges of the Supreme and Constitutional Courts, and members of the Central Election Commission. And of course, the President is the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, which gives an incredible amount of power due to the Union State with Russia. This is why the West will be frothing at the mouth to bring Belarus to its knees, for its institutional links with the Russian Federation, Russian Military, and now hosting Russian nuclear weapons. The National Assembly The National Assembly of Belarus is a bicameral legislature consisting of the Council of the Republic and the House of Representatives, which have 64 and 110 representatives, respectively. The House of Representatives - the lower chamber - is responsible for drafting and adopting laws; reviewing the annual state budget; ratifying the international treaties; and approving or denying the Prime Minister appointed by the President. The Council of the Republic on the other hand consists of six members appointed by the president, with another 56 deputies that are elected by the regional councils across the six regions of across the country. It is this body that is empowered to approve or veto any of the laws that have been drafted by the House of Representatives. This body also reviews international treaties and any constitutional amendments that are made. It is also empowered to execute an impeachment process against the President. The breakdown of the parties within the national assembly from the February 2024 House of Representative elections are as follows: 1. Belarusian Party “Belaya Rus” (White Russia): 46.4% (51 seats) 2. Republican Party of Labour and Justice: 7.3% (8 seats) 3. Communist Party of Belarus: 6.4% (7 seats) 4. Liberal Democratic Party: 3.6% (4 seats) 5. Independents: 36.3% (40 seats) While independents are not officially affiliated with a particular party, many maintain close ties to established political groups, effectively extending the influence of major factions within the assembly. The Council of Ministers Operating under the leadership of the Prime Minister, the Council of Ministers functions as the executive branch, governing administrative matters and policy implementation, with cabinet members of the Prime Minister overseeing various departments such as defense, foreign affairs, the economy, and so forth. As such, they are the ones responsible for the development of the national economic, social, and other cultural policies; while also creating plans for the execution of laws and decrees as well as drafting the state budget. The Judiciary Branch Judicial appointments are selected by the President, however are entrusted to retain a level of independence in which their orders adhere to the laws of the republic and the constitution. It is divided by the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court. With 12 judges in its body, the Constitutional Court reviews the laws passed by the National Assembly in their compliance with the 1994 constitution. Of the 12 judges, six are appointed directly by the President whereas the other six are appointed by the Council of the Republic. The Supreme Court is regarded as the highest judicial body for civil, criminal, and administrative cases; it serves to provide uniform application of the law and advisory for the lower courts. The President also appoints the Prosecutor General to oversee the application of the law through the law enforcement bodies. Local Councils and Executive Committees Belarus is divided into six regions and the capital city of Minsk, each governed by regional councils and executive committees. While these entities manage local administrative matters, they are largely subordinate to the central government, a very Soviet-esque style. Members of the local councils are elected by the citizens in their respective regions to deal with the nitty-gritty of their day-to-day life such as overseeing local budgets and administrative issues. They deal with the concerns of the average Belarusian citizen directly. The Executive Committee members are appointed directly by the President, simply to ensure the process of delegating the national policies at the regional and local levels runs smoothly as directed. As seen, the Belarusian system emphasizes the role of the government in maintaining national unity, economic stability, and social cohesion, protecting Belarus from Maidan-style interference and anarchy. Belarus hasn’t just held onto its Soviet-style government—it’s also preserved much of its economic framework from that era. Key industries like manufacturing, energy, and agriculture remain under significant state control, reflecting a centralized approach to economic management. At the same time, Belarus is undergoing a technological transformation, boasting one of the most advanced tech sectors in Eastern Europe. Yet, despite these strides, the country’s economy is still firmly rooted in its industrial foundation, remaining a highly productive, manufacturing-driven nation. A Soviet Legacy with Modern Adaptations Manufacturing Under the ownership of the national government, manufacturing hails as the backbone of the Belarusian economy, accounting for nearly 20% of GDP and employing approximately 25% of the workforce - predominately working on heavy machinery, automotive, industrial equipment, and chemical production. BelAZ, or the Belarusian Automobile Plant, in Zhodino, is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of large dump trucks, especially in areas of construction and mining. On October 7th, 2024, the company announced it would begin the process of deploying universal robots to assist in the production. According to Belarus Today, despite the international sanctions on the company as a result of the Russian SMO, in 2023 BelAZ sold 963 mining dump trucks to 19 different countries. Though the company did take a hard financial hit preventing profits, it was able to preserve its team without layoffs, survive the hit, and is now able to implement innovative projects for future production. The revenue drawn from companies like BelAZ, Minsk Automobile Plant, and Minsk Tractor Works is accounted for in the state budget to further national interests. Energy Belarus’s energy sector, though far smaller in scale than those of its Russian and Ukrainian neighbors, plays a critical role in the country’s economy. Contributing to 10% of the country’s total GDP, the industry focuses on oil refining, natural gas distribution, and electricity generation, with 80% of its energy resources imported from Russia. Belarus refines Russian crude oil both for domestic use and export, creating a mutually beneficial economic relationship between the two nations. Once a vital transit route for Russian energy to Western Europe, Belarus’s trade with the EU has sharply declined in recent years, largely due to European sanctions imposed after the disputed 2020 presidential election where Western countries refused to acknowledge President Lukashenko’s re-election. Despite these tensions—and even amid the construction of a dual-sided border wall—Belarus and Poland remain surprisingly interlinked. Poland continues to be Belarus’s largest trading partner within the EU, highlighting the complexities of their economic ties in a politically charged environment. The Mozyr Oil Refinery operates under a joint ownership structure. The Belarusian government controls 43% of the refinery, while the remaining shares are held by Russian entities, including Slavneft—a collaboration between two energy giants, Rosneft and Gazprom Neft. As of 2005, the refinery employed around 3,781 workers. The Mozyr Oil Refinery Workers Association (MNPZ) bolstered its workforce, which included 2,235 active employees and 700 retirees at the time. The Naftan Oil Refinery, located in the northeastern city of Novopolotsk, operates under full state ownership, with the Belarusian government maintaining control. Together, these refineries highlight the intricate blend of state and Russian collaboration that defines Belarus’s energy infrastructure, illustrating the close economic ties between the two nations while cementing Belarus’s position as a key player in regional energy markets. Agriculture Remaining a cornerstone of the Belarusian economy well after the Soviet dissolution, agriculture plays a vital role in both employment and GDP contribution. Approximately 9% of the workforce is employed in the sector, which accounts for around 7% of the nation’s GDP. Belarus’s fertile lands produce a range of essential goods, with grain, potatoes, dairy, and meat standing out as the sector’s primary outputs. The country is renowned for its dairy products, ranking among the world’s top exporters. Belarusian meat, cheese, butter, and milk products find eager markets abroad, especially in Russia and China, where they are hailed for their quality and competitive pricing. While collective farming—a hallmark of the Soviet era—has largely declined, the state still maintains significant ownership over agricultural enterprises. Per the 2023 Belarusian state census report, roughly 50% of Belarus’s workforce is employed by state-owned enterprises, reflecting the enduring influence of centralized economic planning in the country's post-Soviet structure. Meanwhile, around 45% of workers contribute to the private sector, which includes the service industry and a rapidly expanding IT sector. Belarus has positioned itself as a hub for technological innovation in Eastern Europe, with thriving software development and tech services industries that attract foreign clients, particularly in the EU and Russia. Belarusian Hi-Tech Park Often referred to as the “Silicon Valley of Eastern Europe”, the Hi-Tech Park (HTP) in the capital city of Minsk was established in 2005 as part of a strategic initiative by the Belarusian government to diversify the economy and attract foreign investment. This was an effort led by Valeriy Tsepkalo, a former advisor to President Lukashenko and a candidate in the 2020 Presidential elections. The idea of HTP emerged as the government sought to capitalize on the growing global demand for IT services and software development. President Lukashenko signed Presidential Decree No. 12, which created a legal framework for the park. This decree granted companies within HTP significant tax exemptions and special legal conditions, making it an attractive and competitive destination for IT businesses. The state played a crucial role in providing the initial funding, regulatory support, and infrastructure necessary for HTP's development. The state also retains ownership of the park, with its administration directly overseen by the Ministry of Communications and Informatization of Belarus. HTP’s growth was remarkable, with the number of resident companies rising from a handful in its early years to over 1,000 by 2023. The park shapes its focus from traditional IT outsourcing to advanced fields like AI, blockchain, gaming, and cybersecurity. The park's exports surged, reaching $3.2 billion in 2021, with the majority of products and services targeting markets in the EU, the U.S., and Russia. By 2023, HTP employed more than 60,000 professionals. Despite its success, HTP faces challenges, particularly in the aftermath of the 2020 EU sanction package and the 2022 sanctions package for Belarus’s participation in the SMO. Nonetheless, HTP is full of growth potential, especially considering Belarus’s ascension to the BRICS economic alliance which will take effect on January 1st, 2025, just weeks before the upcoming presidential elections. Belarus’s economic and political framework—rooted in its Soviet heritage—has not only ensured stability since the dissolution of the USSR but has also shielded the nation from the economic upheaval experienced in Russia and Ukraine under Western-imposed shock therapy, namely the chaos of drug and sex cartels. This continuity has enabled Belarus to achieve economic growth despite its estrangement from the so-called rules-based international order. The Belarusian people remain central to their nation’s economic sovereignty, reaping direct benefits from a model designed to prioritize collective prosperity and national independence. This stands in stark contrast to the U.S., where the unchecked forces of corporatism have eroded the living standards of the working class in favor of profit-driven oligarchies. Yet, the very industries that empower Belarus’s populace and reinforce its sovereignty are perceived by Washington and NATO allies as ripe for subjugation. The prospect of dismantling Belarus’s self-reliant system in favor of submission to transnational corporate interests mirrors the devastation wrought in Ukraine, where entities like BlackRock have entrenched foreign control under the guise of reconstruction and reform. In the face of NATO escalation of the conflict in Ukraine, it should come as no surprise that the forces that sought to lead a color revolution in 2020 will be more emboldened—possibly having learned from past mistakes to return with a much bigger bite as the stakes have only become much more precarious—for both the pro-NATO and pro-multipolarity forces.  The Belarusian Opposition: The Trite Romance of Liberal-Nationalism When Lukashenko was announced as the winner of the 2020 presidential elections, the country erupted into unprecedented, historic protests. What was represented to be spontaneous mass discontent with electoral results quickly devolved into a state of emergency. Three main oppositional figures were leading the anti-Lukashenko movement: Maria Kalesnikova, Veronika Tsepkalo (wife of Valeriy Tsepkalo), and Svetlana Tikhanovskaya. The three sought to craft a facade of the “liberal, progressive women united against the old Soviet dictator” to garner sympathy from international audiences, drenching their image entirely in a Hollywood-style trope of light versus dark; free pro-democracy against dark Soviet authoritarianism. At the forefront of this alliance was Svetlana Tikhanovskaya. Tikhanovskaya emerged as the beacon of the Belarusian liberal-nationalist movement when her husband, Sergei Tikhanovsky—a popular YouTube blogger and vocal critic of Lukashenko—had been jailed for 15 days after participating in an unsanctioned protest against the Victory Day Parade. The event, deeply rooted in the Belarusian national identity, commemorates the country's liberation from Nazi Germany during WWII. With Tikhanovsky detained, Tikhanovskaya entered into the spotlight, registering as a presidential candidate and becoming the face of the opposition movement. Hoping to unseat Lukashenko, a diverse coalition of pro-NATO political figures, civil society groups, and international supporters emerged and coalesced around Tikhanovskaya, using their connections to international contacts in the West to ensure her victory, whether by the ballot box or by a Maidan-style coup. Tikhanovskaya largely remained vague about her plans to re-invent Belarus to the public, however, her campaign website featured a link to the Reanimation Package of Reforms for Belarus, created by the same NGOs that wrote the reforms package for Ukraine under Maidan. Her team had removed the link once critics highlighted the connections to Ukraine’s Maidan reforms, but Historic.ly’s Esha Krishnaswamy managed to archive the site on the Wayback Machine just before it was taken down. The reforms sought to reshape Belarusian society by pivoting decisively toward the West, emphasizing integration into institutions like the EU and NATO. Central to this vision was reducing Russian influences, both culturally and politically. The measures proposed banning Russian media and curtailing other perceived Kremlin-aligned forces, including removing Russian as an official language—a significant shift given that an estimated 75% of Belarusians identify Russian as their native tongue. This pro-NATO agenda aimed to re-invent Belarus’s identity, creating an idea of Europeanness while distancing it from its historical ties to Moscow. Perhaps most controversially, the reforms offered the overhaul of Belarus's economy by privatizing its vast state-owned industries in a bid to attract foreign investment. It went further to demand the reduction of Belarus's reliance on Russian energy imports, setting a cap on the Russian share and instead turning to the more costly alternative of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG), much like what has been laid out for Ukraine. Of course, Tikhanovskaya’s public-facing campaign slogans centered on “human rights” and “democratic values”, while little was spoken of the neoliberal economic reforms planned. Then on August 9th, 2020, the presidential elections were held, where the incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko, in power since 1994, was officially declared the winner with around 80% of the vote. Soon after, coordinated protests broke out in the capital city of Minsk. Thousands poured out onto the streets demanding that Lukashenko step down and for new elections to be announced, a demand the opposition called for on August 8th, 2020, before the elections even took place. The government responded with a harsh crackdown: security forces used tear gas, rubber bullets, and stun grenades to disperse protesters. Thousands were arrested as the government found evidence of Western meddling, and the events drew widespread condemnation, particularly from the US-EU-NATO axis. The protestors adorned the symbols of the Belarusian nationalist movement, the Pahonia white-red-white flag with roots from Belarus’s occupation by first the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and then the German Nazi occupation which installed the Belarusian Central Rada puppet government, comprised of Nazi-selected Belarusian ultra-nationalists. Many were unaware of the roots of this flag, particularly the liberal youth from the capital who have long forgotten their history.  However, while plastered across timelines on social media, the protestors proved to be a loud, but small minority. Pro-government supporters also took to the streets, waving the flag of their nation with its roots from the Soviet period and chanting “za Belarus” (to Belarus) as a retort to the opposition’s chant “zhivye Belarus” (long live Belarus). And though the opposition tried to manufacture a feminist image of themselves, it was Belarusian women who organized many of the pro-government demonstrations—another group welcoming President Lukashenko to the 2020 Women’s Forum. There was a clear divide among the population to the responses of the protests. Much of the proponents of the opposition’s campaigns were young, middle class city university students while the government’s supporters were older, former Soviet workers - many of whom condemned the protests for waving the symbols of the Nazi-installed occupational government of the Belarusian Central Rada.  Soon after the protests began, the Coordination Council for Tikhanovskaya’s campaign was formed to force Lukashenko out by manufacturing civil unrest and seeking recognition from the EU as the legitimate transitional government. Lithuania was the first to formally recognize Tikhanovskaya as the elected leader of the country, offering her official diplomatic status where she remains based today. Soon after, the Czech Republic and Poland followed suit, where Poland then built a border wall in the forest connecting Belarus and Poland. Additionally, the European Parliament and the Council of Europe had been vocal in recognizing Tikhanovskaya’s claim of leadership of the Belarusian people, despite that even US-backed Zubr ‘Bizon’ and Chestniye Lyudi election monitoring groups reported from exit polls that Lukashenko won with at least 61.7% of the vote. While Tikhanovskaya claims leadership over her home country from abroad, a trial was held against her in absentia in Minsk where she was sentenced to 15 years in jail for high treason and conspiracy to seize power. She has also faced scrutiny from some of her own former supporters after it was revealed on ONT TV that her campaign had embezzled funds intended for the jailed protestors and their families, to which they had not received the intended financial assistance as advertised. With her reputation tarnished outside of the eyes of pro-EU extremists, Tikhanovskaya relies primarily on the support of NATO governments for any legitimacy. On May 28th, 2024 Belarusian Radio Racyja, financed by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the U.S. Embassy in Poland, reported that 6,700 Belarusian citizens participated in the Coordination Council’s elections where Pavel Latushko, former Minister of Culture, was declared the Deputy Head of the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus, led by Tikhanovskaya. Latushka has taken to social media (x.com/@PavelLatushka) to urge EU leaders to oppose the Belarusian government and lend words of support to the Ukrainian Army, which is currently engaged in the killing of Belarusian soldiers. The Belarusian Nationalist Movement: Collaborationists in the 21st Century More than just re-adopting the symbols of the day, the Belarusian nationalist movement continues its struggle to the 21st century through a marriage with European liberalism —reinventing itself to be more digestible to the European liberal of today, while still carrying over its central ideological values. Founded in 1943, the German Nazi-backed political entity known as the Belarusian Central Rada (BCR) projected itself as the legitimate Belarusian government, rejecting Soviet authority, albeit subordinate to the shadow of occupation forces; parallel to Tikhanovskaya and Europe’s assertion of its legitimacy today over the Lukashenko government. The BCR was led by Radaslau Astrouski, who believed through aligning the Belarusian nationalist movement with its German fascist counterparts, they would be supported in creating an independent Belarusian republic. The nationalists framed their collaboration with the Germans as a necessary tactic to fend off communism and Soviet authority, sharing German values of anti-Russian sentiment. Nonetheless, the Germans still greatly limited their ability to express their own national symbols and rhetoric, only going so far as to allow anti-Soviet policies and repression. With the German retreat in 1944, the BCR dissolved, and its leaders fled to the West. In exile, they worked to maintain their vision of Belarusian nationalism, leveraging platforms such as Radio Free Europe to oppose the Soviet Union. However, their collaborationist history tarnished their reputation within Belarus, where they were widely discredited. Nonetheless, in the sanctuary of the West, they were allowed to work against the Soviet Union through media apparatuses like Radio Free Europe and pro-NATO civil society. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, organizations like the Belarusian Democracy Movement and the Belarusian National Front Party continue the legacy of the Belarusian Central Rada, under great restriction due to Belarus’s laws against the promotion and rehabilitation of Nazism. Established in October 1988, the Belarusian National Front Party (BNF) became the first oppositional party in the country, emerging as a response to the chaos within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. It was the first party since the German occupation to use the Pahonia flag and consolidate the forces of pro-European liberals and Catholic, anti-communist nationalists. The party had little relevance and success until the August 2020 protests, in which the party affiliate media channel NEXTA gained notoriety as it covered the events in Belarus, including organizing protest meeting locations and promoting oppositional figures. NEXTA was formed out of Poland in 2015 by Stepan Putilo, a Belarusian national who relocated for university studies. An ardent critic of Lukashenko’s government, Putilo used the digital space to spread his message to other young, university-aged Belarusians much like the Belarusian nationalists before him had done with Radio Free Europe, creating more alternative, pro-NATO media. In 2020, journalist Armen Gasparyan claimed that Putilo’s great-grandfather was a collaborationist by the name of A.G. Putilo during the 1941 German occupation of the country. As a result of Putilo’s digital participation in the 2020 color revolution attempt, he has been labeled a terrorist with an outstanding warrant for his arrest.  While Putilo remains active, his former colleague Roman Protasevich met a starkly different fate. Protasevich, who between 2014 and 2015 served in the ultranationalist Azov Battalion during the conflict in the Donbass region, was arrested in May 2021 after Belarusian authorities forcibly diverted a Ryanair flight he was aboard to Minsk, citing a bomb threat. The global reaction was swift, with widespread condemnation and sanctions against Belarus. Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O’Leary, denounced the incident as “state-sponsored piracy.” The likes of ultra-nationalists like Stepan Putilo and Roman Protasevich are among the many who Tikhanovskaya calls political prisoners while omitting insights into the nature of their crimes. Tikhanovskaya decried the arrest of former Azov Battalion member Protasevich, calling Belarus “North Korea in the middle of Europe,” and demanded an investigation into the landing with stricter sanctions to be imposed on Belarus, a call that borderlines treason. But while having minimal political history herself, Tikhanovskaya is well embedded with, and led by, key figures in the Belarusian nationalist movement. Sitting as her chief advisor is Franak Viacorka, who served previously as the Creative Director for the Minsk bureau of the CIA-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is currently a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council, the pro-NATO think tank. Viacorka’s father, Vincuk Viacorka, was a foundational member of the far-right BNF party and a key player in Belarusian nationalist movements since the 1970s. As the liberal-nationalist forces united together in a campaign to isolate and balkanize Russia, fanning the flames of the conflict of NATO aggression against Russia, the Belarusian opposition braces itself for a renewed campaign to seize power in the Eastern European country as they have prematurely condemned the electoral process altogether. Belarus Joins BRICS: A Step Towards Multipolarity and Sovereignty In a significant geopolitical move, on January 1st, Belarus formally joined the BRICS alliance, signaling its intent to deepen ties with the emerging multipolar world order. The timing is pivotal. With elections on the horizon, the move bolsters President Alexander Lukashenko's pursuit of sovereignty and resistance to Western sanctions, particularly as the US-EU-NATO wages its proxy war in Ukraine. For ordinary Belarusians, the impact could manifest in the form of increased trade opportunities and investments, much of which has been stagnant since the 2020 and 2022 sanctions package. The emerging alliance that has challenged the rules-based-order is still precarious and has yet to fully form, but for Belarus the BRICS alliance offers a role in the rise of sovereign civilizational states and a lifeline outside of Euro-Atlantic hegemony. With its ascension to BRICS as well as its position in the Union State with Russia, eroding Belarusian sovereignty with a Maidan style coup becomes all the more essential in the broader campaign against Russia. As such, the opposition at the service of NATO governments have to be all the more emboldened to undermine the country’s sovereignty. The pushback and media campaign that will ensue in the lead up to the elections will be inorganic, perfectly crafted political theater. Time will tell if the small country can once again withhold its own Maidan from brewing. The same forces that seek to undermine Belarusian sovereignty, reducing it to a vassal in the broader conflict against Russia, are those who simultaneously exploit the livelihoods of everyday Americans. The Biden administration’s policies have already plunged Ukraine into turmoil, marking a somber chapter in the region's history. Meanwhile, American taxpayers are drained of resources desperately needed for their own communities, diverted instead to fuel the profits of the military-industrial complex and line the pockets of Ukraine’s corrupt comprador elite. As Belarus stands firm against globalist efforts to subjugate its independence, Americans might find a shared struggle in this defiance. The same adversaries that assail Belarus also erode the well-being of the American people, plundering both nations in their pursuit of unchecked power. AuthorKayla Popuchet is a Peruvian-American from New York City with a background in Latin American history and Slavic studies from City Universities of New York system. She currently works in housing law, dedicated to advancing social fair housing policies in Manhattan and the Bronx. She is also a member of the American Communist Party. Archives January 2025
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