Expressen, in cooperation with several European media, can today reveal Russia's secret plans to take over neighboring Belarus.
A leaked document from the Kremlin describes how the country will be subjected to Russia step by step.
Russian law is to be introduced – expanded military presence with a common command system, the political system is to be taken over by pro-Russian forces, the Belarusian language and culture are to be repressed, and Russian passports are to be distributed to create a "stockpile" of Russian citizens.
RUSSIA
The Directorate for Cross-Border Cooperation is a newly formed part of Russian President Vladimir Putin's power structure. It is largely composed of personnel from the intelligence and security services. In the spring of 2021, the department was tasked with developing Russia's new strategy for neighboring Belarus.
The document "Strategic goals of the Russian Federation in the Belarusian direction" describes in dry bureaucrat language how Russia will step by step by 2030 take over the neighboring country with nine million inhabitants and which borders the EU and NATO countries Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.
The document covers the whole of society, large and small. From common borders, currency and military to more Belarusian children being sent to patriotic centers in Russia.
The goal is to cut off Western influence, create a common resistance to NATO and
push away the Belarusian identity, replacing it with a Russian one.