Russia took Belarus in tow.

While financial.

The first tranche of the $ 1.5 billion loan promised by Vladimir Putin will be transferred in October.

It will go through the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development.

The second part of the funds will be received by the end of the year, and the third - in 2021.

Finance Minister Yury Seliverstov told about this to compatriots on the air of the Belarus 1 TV channel.

“In conditions when the end of the pandemic, followed by economic growth, is not yet observed, it is clear that these resources will be useful for the country for development,” the official admitted.

It is immediately clear that Minsk attaches great importance to this assistance.

Russia's motivation is obvious.

Give Belarus a shoulder at a time when things are not going well for her.

And thus to preserve, to save allied relations.

Not to be overwhelmed by the promises of the Polish nobles, "lace panties and the EU".

Do not allow a completely flourishing country to turn into another version of the Wild Field, where foreign military contingents will one day be stationed, or even launchers aimed at Moscow.

The price of the issue is considerable.

For this one and a half billion is not a pity.

References to Yanukovych, who received a similar loan from Russia on the eve of his escape from Ukraine, are inappropriate.

Lukashenka is clearly not going to run away.

I remember that in Russia many laughed at the intercepted audio recording of the Polish-German conversation, where the President of Belarus was called "a tough nut to crack."

They say that the film is lime, and its manufacturers just flattered the Old Man, fulfilling the order.

Not being able to verify its reliability, we note that Lukashenka really turned out to be too tough for his opponents.

Anyway, at the moment.

Running around with a machine gun is ridiculous only for intellectuals who know one-sidedly and do not understand life well.

Old Man knew what he was doing.

The target of his demonstration was the security forces.

It was important for them to prove that the president is not afraid.

Proved.

Albeit in a somewhat grotesque form.

It was this circumstance that helped Lukashenko to cope with the internal opposition in general.

In any case, hot on the heels of the collapse of power did not happen.

On the external front, opposing the West, Lukashenka behaved even more decisively.

Without much hesitation to close the border with neighbors tightly, few leaders can take away cargo flows from them in the modern world.

They are afraid that they will say how their colleagues in other countries will react ... Lukashenka was not afraid, and the West immediately "turned on the back".

So, the head of the State Department Mike Pompeo, an iron Mike without fear and reproach, cowardly merged, avoided answering the question of who Washington considers the president of Belarus.

The weakness of the West was no less prominent at the end of last week, when at a summit in Brussels, the EU countries agreed on a sanctions list of Belarusian officials without including Lukashenka personally.

Why?

It's simple.

According to world practice, ambassadors are accredited to the head of state.

You can “dine” on Svetlana Tikhanovskaya as much as you like, calling her the President of the Republic of Belarus, but it is impossible to accredit ambassadors with her.

This means that the West will lose leverage for further influence on the situation in the republic (there is no doubt that they want to crush Lukashenka there).

Actually, this was confirmed by Emmanuel Macron, explaining the EU's position by the desire for dialogue.

But Lukashenka hit the otvetka without sparing the Europeans.

The fact that the EU had prepared the list became known after midnight, and early in the morning Minsk had already announced its countermeasures.

Moreover, it was about the fact that the visa restrictions of Minsk will apply in Russia, because we have a Union State.

For half a day, observers doubted.

Like, how is this so - Belarusian sanctions, but we must comply.

“In accordance with the allied commitments, the Belarusian retaliatory list of sanctions, which came into force today, will automatically be applied in the Russian Federation,” spokesman for the Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova supported Minsk.

It looks like some kind of tribute to Lukashenka's resilience.

Like, since he is holding on tightly, then we should not stand aside.

Applying the "stick" to the Europeans, Moscow beckoned with a carrot.

Thus, the head of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs Leonid Slutsky expressed "cautious optimism" in connection with the exclusion of Lukashenko from the sanctions list.

That is, he made it clear that if the EU changes their minds, then Russia will not keep evil.

There is only one little left to do - to change your mind and stop meddling in Belarusian affairs with your own European charter.

In fact, we are talking about the joint defense of Belarus and Russia, not only in purely military, but also in political and economic aspects.

Retaliatory sanctions are a political weapon.

Credit is an economic and financial weapon.

The next forum of the regions of Russia and Belarus, which took place on September 29, is about the same.

A stake on direct economic relations.

From the greeting of the President of the Russian Federation: “Taking into account the difficult situation in which Belarus finds itself, including in the conditions of unprecedented external pressure after the presidential elections, I would like to repeat once again: relations between Russia and Belarus are not subject to either time or conjuncture.”

It's like that.

When it presses, it is immediately clear who is the friend and who is the enemy.

The same criterion is appropriate to apply to assess the Belarusian opposition, which over the weekend continued to challenge the election results.

Against them, water cannons were used, many dozens of detainees ... I would like to believe that the majority of the protesters are really inclined, if not pro-Russian (and how else, the language is Russian ?!), then at least not pro-Polish.

And then even a little ashamed of fellow citizens of the Union State, controlled and guided by teenagers from the Polish NEXTA.

So those who, challenging Lukashenka, do not seek salvation in the West, are ours.

And they are in the majority in Belarus.

The author's point of view may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.