President Alyaksandr Lukashenka naturally wants to extend his rule as long as possible, while Belarusians protesting in the streets want to bring it to an end as soon as they can. But Moscow, which has more than a little say in the matter (see EDM, September 8, 10), is divided as to whether and when Lukashenka’s departure would help the Kremlin and how Russia could achieve its goals without hurting itself. As a result, in Moscow at least, time appears to be working both for and against the Belarusian dictator.
