Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has just been re-elected, which means it is difficult for the “Color Revolution” to take place in Belarus.
The “Color Revolutions” had swept Ukraine, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan, making people sigh about the changes in the world’s situation, especially the fates of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries.
The “Color Revolution” has two main connotations: First, the countries that have experienced “Color Revolution” want to seek new living space and development directly through the color change. Second, the US and European Union attempt to make the CIS countries change their side to force Russia to give up part of its sphere of influence through planning, promoting and implementing the “Color Revolution.”
However, these “Color Revolutions” have brought different results.
Although the “color” has been changed, these countries did not get what they had expected. Instead they just changed the political system.
These countries are confronted with the expectations of joining the European Union but that has to be decided by the US and EU powers. They were promised protection and benefits, but have to shamefully beg and wait endlessly.
The US and Europe did not expect the “Color Revolution” would become enormous economic burdens tangled with old historical resentments.
The “Color Revolution” is changing political systems and it is a fight for power and influence.
In fact, those who launched the “Color Revolution” did not expect to treat the “Color Revolution” countries as equals. The West only wants to push back the boundaries of Russia, or even abolish this border through these “Color Revolutions”.
Western democracy and freedom cannot replace the existing political systems in these countries, because the Western political system, which requires the control of power, influence and financial strength, is dramatically opposite to the national governance of autocracy and exclusive personal right and its deep-rooted impact among the people. The increasing differences and deepening contradictions in the country’s governance, social development and dependence of power are the best proofs.
It is difficult to obtain an instant effect in the “Color Revolution” countries with modern life based on high energy consumption, high risk of speculation and good material well-being. When the resplendent colors of Western life through colored glasses is gone, people still have to face actual problems. So the follow-up force of the “Color Revolution” is blocked.
The “Color Revolution” took place far away from Moscow and the connections between Russia and these countries are relatively weak.
It seems as if the more remote the areas, the more willing they are to change the color.
In the real world, no matter how these countries would like to change their colors, they are actually, to a large extent, dependent on Russia. And in this respect, the energy supply and the presence of military bases play a decisive role.
It cannot be ignored that the countries that are closer to Moscow have stronger similarities to Russia.
Belarus is such a case.
No country in the world today is willing to abandon its essential ties in order to pursue its differences. Although Belarus and Russia are different in political decision-making and leadership behavior, the “Color Revolution” has stopped in Minsk.
The author is a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.