LAVROV VISITS MINSK: RUSSIA WANTS LUKASHENKO TO IMPLEMENT COMMITMENTS

Businessman Konstantin Malofeev, known for his role in the annexation of Crimea and events of 2014 in Donbas, announced the creation of a new public movement named Tsargrad. It was formed in Moscow at the November 22 congress of the “Double-Headed Eagle” society that Malofeev heads. According to an estimate by Malofeev, the new movement has almost a million supporters throughout Russia. Malofeev said that his Tsargrad would take part in the 2021 State Duma election, serving as a “public controller.” The organization hopes to survey all deputy candidates in the 225 single-member districts and all candidates of the political parties regarding their adherence to “traditional family, religious, and cultural values of the Russian people.” According to Malofeev, candidates who are discovered to be guilty of Russophobia, offending the feelings of believers, and distorting historical truth will be opposed in every legal way to prevent them from getting into power. Tsargrad will not be able to nominate candidates, as this is the exclusive right of political parties. Malofeev adheres to right-wing traditional and imperial views, and his Double-Headed Eagle society promotes monarchist ideas. His movement will thus wave far-right and traditional agenda referring to tsarist Russia. Konstantin Malofeev was elected president of the Tsargrad movement. Among its high-ranking figures are ideologists holding links to what is known as Novorossiya (New Russia), supporters of the war with Ukraine. Members of the supreme council of the movement include State Duma deputies Oleg Nilov and Nikolai Zemtsov, Evgeny Savchenko, senator from Belgorod oblast and its former governor, former prosecutor general Yury Skuratov, former presidential aide Sergei Glaziev, philosopher and chief ideologists of Eurasianism Alexander Dugin, conservative publicist Yegor Kholmogorov, and Metropolitan Kirill. Members of many social organizations joined the movement, among which were members of the Union of Volunteers of the Donbas who hosted Vladislav Surkov, a former top Kremlin official, at their meetings. Many signs are that both the new movement and Malofeev’s growing involvement in Russia’s domestic affairs seek to serve the Putin regime. The goal is to win influence and as much control as possible of far-nationalist milieux in Russia that are now rising in power.

25 October 2020 LAVROV VISITS MINSK: RUSSIA WANTS LUKASHENKO TO IMPLEMENT COMMITMENTS

During Sergey Lavrov’s latest visit to Minsk, both parties delivered some declarations on the solid Russian-Belarus alliance. However – and perhaps above all – with this trip, Russia sought to remind Alexander Lukashenko of what commitments he had made at the September meeting with Vladimir Putin in Sochi. Russia threw support to the regime, but there are no free lunches. Now Russian officials make a hint to Lukashenko to start paying off his debt of gratitude to Moscow, even by launching constitutional reforms while in talks with

SOURCE: MID.RU

some opposition members. As Lukashenko violently suppresses the rallies while doing nothing to introduce the announced changes, this is highly uncomfortable for Moscow. This makes more and more Belarusians revise their stance on Russia, seen as an enemy while looking for a partner in the West, as the latest poll found in Belarus.

At first glance, the Moscow-Minsk alliance continues smoothly, with Lavrov’s visit confirming all that. After meeting Lukashenko, the Russian foreign minister said both Russia and Belarus remained calm over Western efforts to meddle in Belarus and they had some tools to defend independence. What was striking in Lavrov’s words was that while mentioning Western attempts to interfere in the situation in Belarus, he no longer spoke of Belarus, but both “our countries.” He also brought back the topic of “color revolutions” and “technologies of organizing mass riots.” Lavrov’s criticism of Germany is also relevant here. Lavrov accused Berlin of acting as “a locomotive of quite aggressive campaigns against countries which are not members of NATO and the EU.” Speaking at the press conference beside his Belarusian counterpart, Vladimir Makei, the top Russian diplomat dismissed information on Moscow’s contacts with Belarusian opposition as “lies.” But this is rather Lavrov who lies. There is no doubt that Russians served a great role in adding Lukashenko’s political opponents to this year’s presidential race, those waving not pro-Western, but pro-Russian views. This is far