...President-for-Life of Russia. He gets along well with other presidents for life. He is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substance. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to him. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substances...said on Thursday the Kremlin had set up a police force to support Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko at his request, although it would not be deployed unless unrest there spun out of control.The remarks were the strongest signal yet that Russia is prepared to use force if needed in Belarus, where mass demonstrations have taken place since an Aug. 9 election that the opposition says was rigged to prolong Lukashenko’s 26-year rule.
"We have of course certain obligations towards Belarus, and the question Lukashenko raised was whether we would provide the necessary help," Putin told state television
... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
"I told him Russia would fulfill all its obligations. Alexander Grigorivich (Lukashenko) asked me to create a reserve police force and I have done that. But we agreed this would not be used unless the situation got out of control."
The Belarusian opposition Coordination Council said Moscow’s move to set up such force violated international law.
Poland, a NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions...
member, and neighbour, also demanded Russia jettison any plans to intervene. Poland "urges Russia to immediately withdraw from plans of military intervention in Belarus, under (the) false excuse of ’restoring control’ — a hostile act, in breach of international law and human rights
One man's rights are another man's existential threat.
of Belarusian people, who should be free to decide their own fate," Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in a tweet.