Lukashenko has got one year to think about the integration process in return for Babich’s removal and Putin gave him a promise not interfering with Belarussian domestic affairs. Babichs actions were unheard as his visited regions, meeting with locals has felt like being a governor that has exercised a parallel power in Belarus as his tone was mentoring and Moscow gave a sign of its claims on Belarus.

The main strategy is to create the impression as if Belarus acted against the interests of Russia, while now asks for excuse. Cyber-attacks have occurred one year ago, when they cracked the twitter account by Minsk, Mogilev and Gomel central police offices and they always had a content about “Belarus-Russian relations”.

Belarussian media propaganda creates an image of on external threat and also a the threat coming from internal opposition. Some explain, presidents decision about dismissing of the leadership of the pro-governmental media, first by adapting to modern media, as to avoid the form of Russian copying bad reputed Russian channels, sliding down into bottom. He also gave the order by emphasizing that he likes to watch only Belarussian channels and he is “nationalist” on this matter.

Collection edited by: Nate Schenkkan, Isabel Linzer, Saipira Furstenberg, and John Heathershaw

Introduction by: Nate Schenkkan, Director for Special Research