In the turmoil, glitter and fuss of the New Year affairs, among the festive populist congratulations and solemn national toasts one could hardly hear the brief report about Vladimir Putin’s coming to Minsk in late January. Nor did I read any serious commentaries in this regard by famous politicians, nor brainstorming of outgoing politicians and opinions of active journalists. Indeed, our newspapers and TV paid greater attention to the visit of Pavel Borodin and Gennady Seleznev.
However, the Russian press, as testified by radio programs, didn’t ignore indifferently the “Belarusian voyage” of their leader. One of the newspapers even wrote that as a result of the January meeting of the two Slavic leaders, there will finally be made clear the destiny of the so-called union state, while contradictory and unpredictable Alexander Lukashenko may finally consent to Putin’s harsh proposal on the accession of six Belarusian regions into the composition of the Russian Federation. Let me not go into the detail as to the possible origin of these rumors, but not only those in Moscow like it. Some naïve individual can’t but swallow another integration “bait”. The very reality pushes him to do that. A few days ago the Russian ambassador, when giving a New Year gift to the Ministry of education of Belarus – textbooks for schools – said the following on TV: “When we say “homeland” in Russia, Belarus is usually implied too”. That was said by a diplomat, who must be very precise and careful in his definitions, especially when it comes to the sovereignty and independence of a neighboring state, where his residence is located. Meantime, Grodno television opens new program “Region” in Russian. What is that – absence of a proper political culture or personal arrogance, combined with an aspiration to forecast the events, which some impatient bureaucrats consider not only plausible but even inevitable? No idea. In a civilized world a respected ambassador would at least hear serious rebukes after what he said. But everything seems calm here – as if nothing had happened. The most wondrous and saddest thing is that it is nothing new for anyone. Haven’t we heard hysterical calls, voiced by Russian and our homegrown politicians to a closer merger of the two nations? One of the most active integrationists Konstantin Zatulin genuinely confessed in the end of last year that he is stubbornly looking for “attractive features in the unification of the two states”. And he specified in a confidential voice: “They (meaning “attractive features”) used to be there throughout Russia’s historical way – both during the tsarist and Soviet empires…” What can be added to that? Belarusians remember well the yoke of the Russian kings here - the bloody invasions of Suvorov and Muraviev are deeply embedded in their memory. However, local political adventurists, who used to major in history back in the past, keep obstinately repeating one and the same: “We are one nation”, forgetting to answer elementary logical questions: if so, why are we then called differently and why does the world perceive us as two independent nations… It seems as though the third act of the unbelievable integration sight will soon come to pass. A brief report about Putin’s coming to Minsk may usher in the start of this third act… I would be happy to learn that my fears were ungrounded and if I prove to be wrong.
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