After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Belarus was the rare former Soviet state that remained strategically aligned with the Russian Federation. In 1999, Russia and Belarus reached an agreement to become a “union state,” which aimed to create a USSR-like federation with a similar government, currency, flag, and army. Over the past two decades, the union state has primarily aimed at economic integration, with efforts in the defense and intelligence sectors as well. This agreement is part of Moscow’s effort to reestablish regional hegemony in the former Soviet space by concluding new alliance agreements. Forming the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Russian-led intergovernmental military alliance organization of select former Soviet states that ensures the collective defense of its members, was also part of this strategy. Minsk’s poor relations with the West in recent years, primarily due to human rights violations, has motivated a newfound closeness to Moscow.
