Will Russia invade Belarus next?
Now that Russia has effectively annexed The Crimea away from the Ukraine, we can start thinking about what country will be next. Vladimir Putin has stated on a number of occasions that he will take care of Russians no matter where they are found. Belarus has one of the largest Russian populations outside of Russia. Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko is a hard line ruler of this small nation and has already expressed that what happened in the Ukraine will not be happening in Belarus.
Aleksandr harbors Russian sympathies, so things could go either way. Russia may move to bring Belarus under it’s wing, under the pretext of defending Belarus from outside/Western European influence or it could leaves things be. As Russia may feel that Regime in Belarus is strong enough to hold it’s own against outside influence.
Either way it will be a very tense time in Belarus over the next few weeks and months.