Report by Andrey Kolesnikov on how the Supreme Council of the Union State of Russia and Belarus took place

On January 29, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko held the Supreme Council of the Union State of Russia and Belarus at the Konstantinovsky Palace. About what we managed to achieve and what we didn’t even try – Kommersant’s special correspondent Andrey Kolesnikov.

The Supreme State Council of the Union State of Belarus and Russia was supposed to begin early by the standards of the Konstantinovsky Palace. And it was not too late for Vladimir Putin to pick up the President of Belarus in his favorite Mercedes SUV. So the meeting participants (and these are the speakers of both chambers of both parliaments, heads of cabinets, members of the governments of Russia and Belarus) were, thank God, on time. But this has to happen: on their way to the meeting room, Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko passed by one empty room, where they immediately decided to retire (it seems that as soon as they see such a room, they immediately start drinking tea in it from morning to evening ). And as a result, everyone waited for them for another hour and a half.

Most of those present were not bored. So, all this time, Mikhail Mishustin was talking to Valentina Matvienko without interruption (and it was he who was the soloist). Apparently, there was something to talk about, but still the conversation that did not stop for a second was impressive.

Vyacheslav Volodin, who was sitting on the right hand of Valentina Matvienko, however, did the same with Sergei Lavrov.

I asked the head of Russian Railways, Oleg Belozerov, what will happen to the notorious conductor (what happened to the cat, alas, is known).

– First of all, we are talking about the owner! – Mr. Belozerov exclaimed. – There are accompanying conditions that influenced. We definitely say: it shouldn’t be like this!

The wording was impeccable. That is, it was impossible to understand anything.

– So you know how it shouldn’t be, but apparently you don’t know how it should be? – I asked.

“Yes,” Mr. Belozerov agreed. “But for now it’s preliminary!” This shouldn’t have happened! The cat’s owner had to do his part. Well, that is, the cat should have been in a closed carrier and should not have gotten out of there! The owner should have been keeping an eye on him! Actions to plant a cat should have been more regulated.

The answers of the head of Russian Railways evoked silent respect.

“Are your personal sympathies,” I finally decided to set the record straight, “on the side of the cat or the conductor?”

Even the ministers of the Russian government, who seemed to be standing at a distance, became interested. That is, everyone just froze.

– So! — Oleg Belozerov concentrated. “I have two dogs and a cat (he later admitted that his dog was once hit by a neighbor with a car, so he knows what he’s talking about.” A.K.). And I can’t imagine, knowing animals, that animals would be left uncontrolled in another environment!

From what we can say for sure: yes, the head of Russian Railways was apparently worried, but he was extremely careful in his worries.

Meanwhile, the presidents of Russia and Belarus finally appeared in the hall.

— You probably know, we’ve been working hard for two days, one might say two days! — said the President of Belarus when, an hour and a half later, he and his colleague finally entered the hall. “We moved smoothly on the third day, did a lot of good deeds!”

The last consideration, unlike the first one, which I experienced myself, was more difficult for me to believe.

“We,” added Alexander Lukashenko, who presides according to the regulations, “have developed a tradition.” Vladimir Vladimirovich, I would ask you to start as the owner of this good business. Have your say!

Mr. Putin did this, but did not provide a reason to quote himself.

Not so Alexander Lukashenko.

“We have really worked very seriously these two days, this is not a joke,” the President of Belarus began. “You can directly say: from the South Pole to the North.”

It seems that they are going not only to Antarctica, as Mr. Lukashenko had already announced earlier, but also to the Arctic.

“We discussed,” continued Alexander Lukashenko, “Antarctica, more comfortable conditions are being created there for Russians to work, a wintering complex has been created.” But the most important thing is that no one shares anything there!

Antarctica is truly considered one and indivisible. Although the icebergs there are wall to wall.

In a nutshell, Mr. Lukashenko described the international situation.

— Then Vladimir Vladimirovich and I walked from the south to the north. Of course, we analyzed the events that are happening in the world. Take our aspiration: Russia and Belarus, the People’s Republic of China. Russia is at the forefront of this, because it bears the most burden and suffers more than anyone else. And the reasons for all this: the Houthis, the Middle East, the South China Sea with Taiwan, the problems – it’s all because a multipolar world is coming. As the Russian Foreign Minister said, the monopolist does not want this. They are trying to maintain a unipolar world using different methods and have reached the point of armed conflicts.

Other details of the international situation became clear:

— Vladimir Vladimirovich knows: we coordinated my trips to Africa, I talked with the President of Russia (I consulted simply as with an older brother.— A.K.) They are really waiting for us there, first of all, the Russian Federation, – in fairness, Alexander Lukashenko made a reservation, – with its enormous capabilities, understanding that times are difficult, but nevertheless Africa is waiting, knowing, as it was in Soviet times, there is Russia there.

Alexander Lukashenko has indeed recently, one might say, traveled to Africa, clearly following Vladimir Putin’s communication with African leaders, primarily at the summer Russian-African summit in Moscow. And Mr. Lukashenko, of course, also wants to be here and there. He comes here all the time, but he still just wanted to go there. And if Vladimir Putin, let’s say, called to Burkina Faso or Mali, Alexander Lukashenko was guaranteed the reception that he, without a doubt, deserves.

Alexander Lukashenko also spoke about domestic political events, extensively, but extremely carefully.

“Our meeting,” said Alexander Lukashenko, “is like the president here (it seems that Alexander Lukashenko was aware that there was only one president in the hall now.” A.K.) said, takes place on the eve of important domestic political events. For the first time in history, a single voting day will take place in Belarus on February 25 this year. Following the example of Russia, we have also established a constitutionally single voting day, and on this day deputies of parliament and local councils will be elected – we have regional, district and village councils, as was the case in Soviet times (is there anything else from what already was it done in Soviet times, hasn’t it been done in Belarus yet? – A.K.). And on March 17, presidential elections will be held in Russia. This is a difficult period.

As we see, Alexander Lukashenko did not mention that in 2024 the All-Belarusian People’s Assembly will also be held, which will naturally go to the polls for the election of the President of Belarus himself, most likely with a clear candidacy of this president. The key word of his theses was “calm.” That is, everyone should remain in their places. The presidential elections in Belarus are in the first half of 2025, but staying local is now.

Many documents were prepared for signing that day, and Alexander Lukashenko reported:

— The prepared decree will actually ensure the recognition of technical operations. And again, just like a spell, ritual words were pronounced, repeated not for years, but for decades:

— Eliminate barriers in the field of government procurement, remove restrictions on the transit of goods…

What’s new: create a unified media holding. They started talking about this just a year ago.

“I’m sure everyone understands how important it is to pursue a coordinated information policy,” said Alexander Lukashenko. “There is a powerful information confrontation going on!” Many people call this a war, but, thank God, we haven’t approached war yet even in the media.

That is, in the information field, with the help of the union media holding, a simple SVO will take place.

“I think,” Mr. Lukashenko continued, “if we create a normal media holding, taking into account trial and error earlier… especially Russian specialists have gone through this (they apparently have a lot to learn from Belarusians.” A.K.), will be a good holding! People need to know what is happening in Russia and Belarus. What exists now is not entirely satisfying.

This in itself was already a strong recognition. There are actually quite a few joint media projects on which budget money from both countries is spent. Newspapers magazines. And it turns out that everything is in vain.

But still, Alexander Lukashenko found the strength to admit it.

“And that’s right,” added the President of Belarus.

Alexander Lukashenko, however, even without outside help, as always, highly appreciated his actions.

The meeting of the Supreme State Council in honor of the 25th anniversary of the Union State turned out to be brief, and, as always, based on its results, no one can really say what it was.

Just wondering, in 25 years they could at least agree on a single currency, which has been talked about a lot since day one.

Could not.

Andrey Kolesnikov, St. Petersburg