Salute for the King with No Clothes

The Russian State Duma convened for its last emergency session to ratify the Russia-Belarus Union Treaty. Previously, there was a lot of talk about the Solons not having the time for ratification and that Boris Yeltsin feigned illness to deny the Duma this historical opportunity. Well, they did find the time. They did it.

The ratification came as the triumphant reality of the integration dream. Only two Deputies, Sergei Yushenkov and Konstantin Borovy, voted against, reminding their colleagues of gross human rights violations by Lukashenka’s illegitimate regime, collapse of the Belarusian economy, artificiality of the Belarusian currency, venality of the government and nationwide theft into which the regime dubbed the “integration process.” The rest of the Duma seemed uninterested, which is understandable, for Yushenkov and Borovy also spoke against the Chechnya War. Who would listen to them anyway?

The most interesting thing is that this ratification is legally meaningless, and the same applies to the treaty. I have written on previous occasions that this arrangement would change nothing in Russo-Belarus relationship; rather, it would merely rename the existing (actually, nonexistent) union between the two countries as a union state. And the Presidents are well aware of this. Alyaksandr Lukashenka did not conceal his disappointment even at the signing ceremony. And the lawmakers know this also. They read the text of the treaty as copies were circulated at the Duma on the date it was signed by the Presidents.

However, point is that the Russian elite enjoys playing the Union Revival game, and it is the game, not the revival, that unites Yeltsin, Putin, Ziuganov, and Zhirinovsky. When it comes time to make real decisions we will witness a real battle of passion in the corridors of power and parliamentary cloakroom. As it is, the two Presidents signed a void paper, and Parliament ratified it. The king with no clothes is going for a walk, a sight perfectly to the liking of all parties concerned. In fact, it would be hard to imagine what would happen if he got dressed.