Why did Putin trade football for Lukashenko?
On the evening of June 19, the teams of Russia and Egypt play in St. Petersburg, the hometown of the Russian president. But Vladimir Putin, the most famous of the living Petersburgers, will not be present at the match. The head of state flew to Minsk, where a meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State of Russia and Belarus will be held. And this is the main intrigue of the beginning week.
Indeed, at the previous match, in which Russian football players fought with the team of Saudi Arabia, the president was present in person. Perhaps it was Vladimir Putin, who was watching the match, who inspired our team to win with such a result. Even the prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed al-Saud, despite the defeat of his team, was not upset - he came to Moscow not only for the match, but also for negotiations with the Russian president. What prevented Vladimir Putin from attending the Russia-Egypt match?
Recently, relations between Russia and Belarus cannot be called cloudless. Historically, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus cooperate with each other more closely than all other post-Soviet republics. There is even an institute of the Union State of Russia and Belarus, at a meeting of the supreme body of which Putin flew. Belarus is important for Russia political ally and economic partner, although now Alexander Lukashenko is trying to show greater independence. For example, Minsk prefers not to quarrel with Kiev, seeks to establish an independent dialogue with the European Union. Not very happy and the activation in Belarus of local nationalists, speaking with anti-Russian slogans and demanding that Minsk make a U-turn towards the European Union, abandoning close friendship with Russia.
Finally, Moscow does not like some of the actions of the "father". This is evident at least as an example of frequent duties and bans on the import of Belarusian goods, primarily agricultural products. One of the main claims of Russia against Belarus is caused by the fact that through the Republic of Belarus sanctioned goods from the EU countries continue to come to Russia, only already under the Belarusian brand. Moscow is very unhappy with this, and in Minsk they prefer to pretend that nothing is happening.
However, Russia and Belarus are very close. This is perfectly understood by Vladimir Putin, since his project - the Eurasian Economic Union - was made possible exclusively thanks to the existence of the Union State of Russia and Belarus. Moscow and Minsk are the framework of the Eurasian Union, so Putin simply cannot neglect Russian-Belarusian relations. Especially in the current global political situation, when Russia needs to take care not only of the international image, but also of preventing the existing military-political threats associated with the expansion of NATO in Eastern Europe and the Ukrainian crisis.
The choice of the meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State of Russia and Belarus, in which Putin preferred to play against the Russian and Egyptian teams, seems to us to be a perfectly thought-out symbolic act. The Russian president shows that relations with Belarus, as Russia's closest ally, are more important to him than all other matters, including football. And in fact, with all the significance of sports victories, real politics has much greater significance for the country. Even if the president would love to attend the match, he made the right decision, showing himself primarily as a political figure.
Indeed, at the previous match, in which Russian football players fought with the team of Saudi Arabia, the president was present in person. Perhaps it was Vladimir Putin, who was watching the match, who inspired our team to win with such a result. Even the prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed al-Saud, despite the defeat of his team, was not upset - he came to Moscow not only for the match, but also for negotiations with the Russian president. What prevented Vladimir Putin from attending the Russia-Egypt match?
Recently, relations between Russia and Belarus cannot be called cloudless. Historically, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus cooperate with each other more closely than all other post-Soviet republics. There is even an institute of the Union State of Russia and Belarus, at a meeting of the supreme body of which Putin flew. Belarus is important for Russia political ally and economic partner, although now Alexander Lukashenko is trying to show greater independence. For example, Minsk prefers not to quarrel with Kiev, seeks to establish an independent dialogue with the European Union. Not very happy and the activation in Belarus of local nationalists, speaking with anti-Russian slogans and demanding that Minsk make a U-turn towards the European Union, abandoning close friendship with Russia.
Finally, Moscow does not like some of the actions of the "father". This is evident at least as an example of frequent duties and bans on the import of Belarusian goods, primarily agricultural products. One of the main claims of Russia against Belarus is caused by the fact that through the Republic of Belarus sanctioned goods from the EU countries continue to come to Russia, only already under the Belarusian brand. Moscow is very unhappy with this, and in Minsk they prefer to pretend that nothing is happening.
However, Russia and Belarus are very close. This is perfectly understood by Vladimir Putin, since his project - the Eurasian Economic Union - was made possible exclusively thanks to the existence of the Union State of Russia and Belarus. Moscow and Minsk are the framework of the Eurasian Union, so Putin simply cannot neglect Russian-Belarusian relations. Especially in the current global political situation, when Russia needs to take care not only of the international image, but also of preventing the existing military-political threats associated with the expansion of NATO in Eastern Europe and the Ukrainian crisis.
The choice of the meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State of Russia and Belarus, in which Putin preferred to play against the Russian and Egyptian teams, seems to us to be a perfectly thought-out symbolic act. The Russian president shows that relations with Belarus, as Russia's closest ally, are more important to him than all other matters, including football. And in fact, with all the significance of sports victories, real politics has much greater significance for the country. Even if the president would love to attend the match, he made the right decision, showing himself primarily as a political figure.
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