re: #380 Jay C

Probably not going to play out very well. Not that I’m an expert, but from all accounts, Belarus was already (well before the Ukrainian invasion) a Russian client/puppet-state, with classic Soviet-style government; i.e. a nominal “democracy” but de facto a dictatorship with Soviet-style attitudes towards opposition politics.
President Lukashenko probably (correctly) felt he had no choice but to back Putin (too many windows in Minsk); but it’s not really a great deal. As I see it, the endgame for Belarus (as a “country”) is going to be either outright reabsorption into Russia, or a “strengthening of fraternal ties” which will amount to the same thing.
Of course, actually asserting their independence, and seeking improved relations and trade with the EU would be a better outcome, but notgonnahappen. Because Russian….

Wasn’t Minsk the USSR city that got nuked in Sir John Hacket’s World War III novel from the late 70s?