Election violence set to push Minsk back towards Moscow

"He [Lukashenko] needs to pay close attention to someone, the Belarusian economy is something of a miracle when you compare it to its [former soviet republic] neighbours, such as Moldova. That’s all of foreign provenance", Tomas Valasek from the CER told The Moscow News. ..."The Belarusian economy has always survived on subsidies, so if Lukashenko is to maintain his social contract, which requires low levels of unemployment and relatively generous welfare, he will have to turn to someone." That someone looks likely to be Russia. "He has effectively closed off the European option for now and will have to rely on his relationship with Russia. The economy is going to need more help. The inference I can draw from this is that he will have to turn to Russia, or possibly other sources, like the Chinese", predicted Valasek.