Putin honors Lukashenko with top Russian state award
Alexander Lukashenko received the highest Russian state decoration, the Order of St. Andrew, from Vladimir Putin on Wednesday. This award was given for services to the Russian Federation. Lukashenko stated that the Belarusian people "consistently strengthen their unity with brotherly Russia."
The award was reported by the independent Belarusian portal Zerkalo.io, citing official media in Minsk. The order's motto is: "For Faith and Loyalty." The portal Nasza Niwa mentioned that Lukashenko kissed the order.
Earlier, Belarusian state media announced that Lukashenko and Putin would hold talks in Moscow regarding "issues of further development of relations" between the two countries and that the emphasis would be on "integrative cooperation within the framework of the Union State" of Belarus and Russia.
On Wednesday, Nasza Niwa recalled the history of this high-status decoration, which was reinstated in modern Russia in 1998 and modeled after that of the Russian Empire.
The award has a deep symbolic meaning: it was given by Russia to the most loyal and useful servants who distinguished themselves in the matter of bringing Belarus into the empire's orbit, the portal emphasizes.
It seems that Putin decided to honor Lukashenko in this way for acting as a faithful ally of Russia and for participating in the aggression against Ukraine (in February 2022, he allowed the Russian army to pass through Belarus). Lukashenko, however, saw significant economic interest in this, as Russia currently provides him with substantial financial support, says Alexander Klaskouski, an independent Belarusian political scientist.
Belarus increasingly dependent on Russia
Economic data shows that Belarus is becoming increasingly dependent on Russia. For its involvement in Russian aggression, Minsk is paying an increasingly high price, losing markets in the European Union and Ukraine. The Belarusian economy is over 60 percent dependent on the Russian market regarding imports and exports. Belarus is the only country that has agreed to the deployment of Russian nuclear weapons on its territory.
