Military presence of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Belarus
Military presence of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Belarus

Summary/Abstract: A military presence on the territory of the Republic of Belarus ishighly significant for the Russian Federation geopolitically. Russia is very particular about having buffer zones, client and neighbouring states with limitedsovereignty on its borders. The aim of this article is to analyse the specificityof the Russian Federation’s military presence in Belarus. In the following article, two hypotheses have been verified using factor analysis. Firstly, sustainingcontrol over the territory of Belarus is of particular importance for the militarysafety of Russia, while at the same time, it detrimentally affects the stability ofthe Central and Eastern Europe countries. Secondly, the Russian Federationdoes not have a permanent military base within Belarusian territory and itsmilitary presence is solely confined to the use of military and transport infra- structure, which is indispensable for rapid accommodation and deploymentof the Armed Force formations as well as for the rotation of strike forces. Dueto political reasons, a permanent military presence enables Russia to keep Be- larus within its area of influence. Nevertheless, in military terms, the utilisationof military and transport infrastructure in order to rapidly deploy strike forceswithin the territory of the Republic is far more important.

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