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The final
group of countries that obtained independence as a result of the
breakup of the Soviet Union is of special importance for Russia. It
includes Belarus, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan. The former Soviet
republic of Moldova can also be considered within this group.
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The
disintegration of the Communist state resulted in a dramatic
division of the three East Slavic peoples – Russians, Belorussians,
and Ukrainians – which have for centuries lived in one state united
by their common ethnic roots, history, culture, and close economic
ties. Their similar cultural, historical, and geopolitical
characteristics notwithstanding, the members of this group do not
have the same political leanings, and their attitude to Russia as
the historic heartland of the East Slavic lands is far from uniform.
Belarus has
been the first country in the group to overcome its largely
artificial separation from Russia and forge a closer alliance with
its Slavic sister nation. The two countries are gradually
reconstituting a single economic, sociocultural, and
military-strategic space. Belarus' "economic
miracle" under Alexander Lukashenka
has been largely subsidized by the Russian economy, including low
energy prices.
Belarus is the
only republic on the western fringes of the former Soviet
territories that does not seek NATO membership. A union with Belarus
thus improves Russia’s geopolitical situation in the west, where it
now borders mostly on countries that have joined or are gravitating
toward the North Atlantic Alliance.
In 2001, President Putin advanced the idea of
forming a union with Belarus on the European Union model. However,
Lukashenka has rejected all serious integrationist measures (such
as, for instance, common currency) and any steps that could lead to
"sharing sovereignty." The recent (December 2006) gas price dispute
between the two countries shows that Russia seeks to use its
economic levers more effectively to project its influence in
Belarus.