Extortion and Bribery
The Russian Empire and Belarus
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
The Kremlin regards Belarus as being a colony. Vladimir Putin believes, it is of key importance to the survival of his empire. However, Moscow is unable to provide any convincing legitimisation for its imperial ambitions. In order to secure the loyalty of the Belarusian élites, Russia oscillates to and fro between extortion and bribery. Therefore the relationship between the centre and the periphery is marked by deep mistrust.
(Osteuropa 3-4/2017, pp. 57–76)