Belarus: The decline of Lukashenko's era

In recent years, Belarus, an official ally of Russia, has been pursuing a policy sometimes contradicting to Russia’s national interests. Refusal to recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia's independence, the stance on the Crimean issue, economic and military cooperation with Ukraine, encouragement of nationalism inside the country, constant oil and gas conflicts with Moscow, smuggling of sanctioned European goods to Russia – all this does pile uncertainty in the Russian-Belarusian relations and puts under question their future.