Paul
Goble
Staunton, August 21 – Rossotrudnichestvo,
the Russian agency for CIS and compatriot affairs, has paid for a group of
young Belarusians to take part in military training exercises at a Russian camp
near Smolensk, an action some may view as part of Moscow’s effort to develop a
fifth column in Belarus.
This is the fifth time this program has
been run under the auspices of Vladimir Putin’s pocket Cossack group and the
Russian government’s program for “Strengthening the Unity of the Russian Nation,
Harmonizing Inter-Ethnic Relations and the Development of Cossacks” (vk.com/wall-95448987_1285?m=1 and
reform.by/belarusian-cossacks-go-to-smolensk/).
Judging from the photographs on the
group’s VKontakte page, Reform.by says, the young Belarusian “Cossacks”
were given paramilitary-type training. What makes this worthy of note is that
it is yet another example of how the Kremlin is using its pseudo-Cossacks to
promote Russian goals, including expansion into neighboring countries.
No comments:
Post a Comment