![](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/files.cnas.org/title/BrusselsSprouts-PodcastPage-Hero.jpg)
August 04, 2023
Lukashenko, Wagner, and the Future of Belarus
Over the past month, Belarus has been increasingly in the spotlight, with the announcement of the Wagner Group’s relocation to the country following its aborted mutiny in Russia at the end of June. While it remains to be seen exactly what role Wagner forces will have in Belarus going forward, their presence is likely to have significant implications for the future of Belarusian President Aleksander Lukashenko’s regime and its relations with the Kremlin. This most recent development comes within a broader context of closer ties between Belarus and Russia over the past couple of years, including a renewed push for integration under the Union State framework and notable moves such as the deployment of Russian nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory. At the same time, the legacy of mass protests in Belarus following stolen elections in 2020 continues to exert a powerful influence, as significant questions remain about the stability of the Lukashenko regime despite its increasingly repressive measures. To discuss all of this and more, Brian Whitmore and Ryhor Astapenia join the latest episode of Brussels Sprouts.
Brian Whitmore is a nonresident senior fellow at The Atlantic Council in Washington D.C. as well as a Russia and Eurasia specialist and assistant professor of practice at The University of Texas at Arlington. He is also the author of The Power Vertical Blog and host of The Power Vertical Podcast, both of which focus on Russian affairs.
Ryhor Astapenia is an academy associate and director of the Belarus Initiative in the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House. He focuses on Belarusian domestic politics and foreign policy.
More from CNAS
-
Why Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran are teaming up
Probably the most surprising thing about the war in Ukraine is that Russia is getting a ton of help. North Korea and Iran are sending it millions of rounds of ammunition and l...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor
-
Putin Will Never Give Up in Ukraine
The evidence suggests that on Ukraine, Putin simply is not persuadable; he is all in....
By Peter Schroeder
-
Assessing the Kursk Offensive with Mike Kofman
The Russia-Ukraine war has recently entered a new phase with the Ukrainian military’s offensive in Kursk, marking one of the most significant battlefield developments in more ...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Jim Townsend & Mike Kofman
-
Brussels Sprouts from the NATO Public Forum on NATO's Ability to Fight Russia and the Importance of the European Pillar
As you might now from our last episode, At the NATO Public Forum in July, Brussels Sprouts roamed the halls of the Marriot Marquis hotel in DC interviewing Public Forum guests...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Jim Townsend