Closer ties to former Soviet republics could aid Yeltsin

March 23, 1996
Web posted at: 3:50 p.m. EST (2050 GMT)

From Correspondent Siobhan Darrow

MOSCOW (CNN) -- When the Soviet Union fell apart in 1991, a wave of euphoria swept across the vast Soviet empire as new nations asserted their sovereignty.

But that euphoric drive for independence has diminished in some areas, replaced by talk about integration -- "to become something like a confederation or some other entity which would be linked by economic, security and other links," says political analyst Viktor Kremenyuk. (221K AIFF sound or 221K WAV sound)

In Belarus, President Alexander Lukashenko is doing more than talk about closer ties. In Moscow to meet with Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin Saturday, Lukashenko announced that his country and Russia would soon sign a treaty linking their governments' economies.

The Kremlin emphasized that this doesn't mean a new state in the making -- officials there likened the agreement to the European Union.

"Integration, especially economic ties, is essential for further development," said Igor Ivanov, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister.

While most of the former republics were ecstatic with their new-found freedom, Russia's tiny neighbor Belarus had to be practically kicked out of the union. And it has clung to the past ever since, electing in 1994 the pro-Communist Lukashenko on a campaign promise of economic re-integration with Russia.

Dependent on its giant neighbor for just about everything -- especially cheap fuel -- Belarus voted overwhelmingly in a referendum last May for closer economic ties to Russia.

Unwilling to embark on market reforms and still stuck in the old Soviet command economy, Belarus is floundering. Half the population lives below the poverty line.

But while Belarus has pinned its hopes on re-integration with Russia, Moscow has so far been reluctant to take on the economic woes of its neighbor.

Elections, however, are less than three months away, and closer ties with former Soviet republics are a plus for Boris Yeltsin, helping him fend off attacks from Communists and nationalists set on restoring the Soviet Union.

Related Sites

• Belarus Home Page
• History of Belarus

Feedback Send us your comments. Selected responses are posted daily.

| CONTENTS | SEARCH | CNN HOME PAGE | MAIN WORLD NEWS PAGE |

---

Copyright © 1996 Cable News Network, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.