In 2024 the Lukashenko regime found itself in quite a difficult situation on the international arena. After the protests of 2020 and following the brutal crackdown on civil society, Minsk got more and more isolated by foreign governments; that isolation increased after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, which has been supported by the Lukashenko regime.
While the Western states don’t recognize Lukashenko as a legitimate ruler of Belarus, and high level Western officials refuse to meet Belarusian officials, the regime seeks alternative ways of legitimizing itself via international meetings. However, heads of state willing to meet the Minsk strongman are in short supply – basically is Putin and some Asian and African leaders of Russia-friendly countries. Thus, in order to have a more robust “international agenda”, Lukashenko resorted to meeting governors of Russian regions – 17 of them in 2024 alone. This is highly irregular, as the custom in international relations is for dignitaries of a certain level to meet foreign counterparts of the same level.
Lukashenko, the salesman: “Buy Belarusian!”
During his talks with the governors, Lukashenko focused on the necessity to foster economic cooperation between Belarus and each of the Russian regions against the background of Western sanctions against the regimes in Moscow and Minsk resulting in the lack of supply of a series of goods from the West. He often used words such as “sanctions”, “trade”, “agriculture”, “machine building”.
For example, on December 9, 2024, he told the governor of Nizhny Novgorod region: “It would be nice if we created a trading house there to sell Belarusian products. I think that we not only need to create a trading house for food sales, but we need to create a trading house where we will also sell industrial goods. For people – consumer goods: clothes, shoes, refrigerators, freezers, televisions. Everything that is necessary for the Nizhny Novgorod region”.
Almost every time he meets any Russian official, Lukashenko talks about the necessity to fight the effects of the sanctions, which should motivate the Russians to buy more Belarusian products within the framework of so-called “import substitution”. He bragged to the head of the Leningrad region Alexander Drozdenko, that “in the industrial sector, we will be able to participate in replacing the competencies of our departed Western partners. And we will be happy to work with the Leningrad Region. These are people very close to us, they are just like the Belarusians. Therefore, you can count on us”.
The same rhetoric was used by Lukashenko during the meeting with the first deputy prime minister of the Russian Federation Denis Manturov on October 28, 2024: “It's no secret that we must protect our market. Our colleagues understand this perfectly well. We don’t want the cooperation to stop like one with the West. They left, dropped everything [saying that they] won't work. Ok, thank you, let them leave. The competencies and people remain here. We have enough raw materials and resources. We will produce and replace their goods with our own”.
“Sorry for being an independent state”
In trying to sell the Russians products made in Belarus, Lukashenko is also emphasizing the “historical” connection between Belarus and Russian regions, even those that are situated thousands of kilometers away from the border. For instance, on February 1, 2024, he told the governor of the Bryansk region that “Since Soviet times, we have had the warmest and most friendly, kind, fraternal relations between our peoples. Thank God that we have not drawn a border that must be crossed and create inconveniences for our people, as happened with Poland, the Baltic countries, and even worse – with Ukraine".
On March 25, 2024 Lukashenko talked to the governor of Omsk region, Vitaly Khotsenko, about War World II, which has been heavily mythologized by both Soviet and Russian propaganda under the term “the Great Patriotic War”: “A special topic is joint work to preserve the historical truth and memory of the Great Patriotic War. Many natives of your land took part in the defeat of the enemy. Unfortunately, they died here and are buried in Belarus. We are doing a lot of practical work to document and perpetuate. We invite scientists and researchers from your region to join this important mission”.
Lukashenko is also using geopolitical factors in trying to persuade the heads of Russian regions to cooperate with him in various spheres. The term “special military operation” and everything connected to it are used like a mantra that would open doors in Russia. The Belarusian strongman even hosted in Minsk the head of the so-called “Donetsk People’s Republic” Denis Pushilin, which was a political statement in itself. Lukashenko used the meeting to acknowledge once again that Ukrainian children from Russian-occupied territories had been taken to Belarus; he basically admitted of being an accomplice in the the kidnapping of the children, which is tantamount to a war crime: “Here we have various hints and so on, even from the West, that if you cooperate, you will offend Ukraine. We are not offending anyone. We are ready to cooperate with Ukraine on the same principles as with the Donetsk Republic. We always accept your children here for treatment and rest. They are very happy. True, [the West] almost dragged me to court, saying that we are kidnapping, as it turns out, your children. Well, so I suggested to both Ukraine and the Americans: please, come, find at least one kidnapped child”.
Sometimes the wish to please the Russian guests goes too far. Thus, on November 18, 2024, while meeting with the governor of Smolensk region Vasiliy Anokhin, besides the usual stories about the necessity to increase the trading volume, propositions to buy more Belarusian goods and appeals to stop land border control with Russia, Lukashenko apologised for Belarus’ being an independent state: “There are two states, but there is a common Fatherland. Russians do not object to this. It is from Brest to Vladivostok. This is our Fatherland. That says it all. But it happened – not through our fault – we have two states, Belarus and Russia”.
“All by myself”
Here it is necessary to mention that Lukashenko directly explained the tasks of his Foreign Ministry to the officials of this institution on November 4: “The main thing for us in the MFA is trade and economic relations. Trade, trade and more trade. Then these white cuffs and collars, representative functions and so on, then all the politics and diplomacy. The essence in our foreign policy and diplomacy should be engaging in trade and economic relations. Everything is concentrated here today – in the MFA”. So basically Lukashenko’s MFA has finally completely turned from diplomatic missions into a bunch of trade houses abroad, tasked with selling the goods of the companies, many of which are controlled by people from Lukashenko’s family and inner circle.
Having a typical dictator mentality, Lukashenko thinks that he can perform all the tasks better than his subordinates. So meeting Russian governors and trying to sell them tractors, foods and services is quite logical from his point of view. He is telling his diplomats: “Look, I am doing your job and I am good at it!”
There are 83 administrative-territorial units in the Russian Federation in total, so after meeting the heads of only 17 of them this year Lukashenko still has a job to do. But this definitely won’t help in improving his image on the international arena or legitimize him in the eyes of foreign leaders. On the contrary, this only underlines Lukashenko’s submissive status in relations with Russia and being de-facto a vassal of the Kremlin with very limited powers, who is struggling to get a positive trade balance with his sovereign.
