Russia’s Belarusian Army. The Practical Aspects of Belarus and Russia’s Military Integration
Russia’s Belarusian Army. The Practical Aspects of Belarus and Russia’s Military Integration

Author(s): Andrzej Wilk
Subject(s): Government/Political systems, International relations/trade, Security and defense, Military policy, Peace and Conflict Studies
Published by: OSW Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich im. Marka Karpia
Keywords: Belarus; Military integration with Russia; Air Defence System; CISR systems; aircraft;
Summary/Abstract: We should consider the broadly understood military integration of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation (RF) as the most advanced aspect of the relationship between the two countries, while at the same time it is the element which shows the greatest disproportion. Belarus is fully dependent on its eastern neighbour for military cooperation, and its own armed forces and arms industry are unable to meet the state’s basic defence needs. Moreover, they cannot function efficiently or develop without Russian support or if they are isolated from cooperation with the analogous Russian structures. In the short term, cutting off Minsk’s cooperation with Moscow would result in the collapse of the Belarusian armaments industry and a systemic crisis in the armed forces, which would then have to be recreated from scratch.

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