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Paul Robinson
, a professor at the University of Ottawa. He writes about Russian and Soviet history, military history, and military ethics, and is author of the Irrussianality blog
By forcing a commercial passenger airliner to land, and seizing two of its passengers, the Belarusian authorities, long regarded as ‘rogue’ by the West, have given the European Union an excuse to pressure their country further.
But beyond the satisfaction derived from selective outrage, it’s hard to see what purpose this pressure will serve in the long run.
In the past year, Western powers have turned their gaze to the east European state of Belarus, making no secret of their desire to see the end of its president, Alexander Lukashenko, often described as the ‘last dictator in Europe’. Last August, Lukashenko claimed to have won re-election with 80% of the popular vote, an assertion that many believed was fraudulent.