It was reported over the weekend that Russia has agreed to slash gas prices for Belarus after some months of wrangling.  Belarus Digest analyses the new wave of ‘economic carrots’ coming from the Kremlin.  Are the benefits really as tantalizing as they look?  Economic aid from Russia’s treasury often seems to have the air of the poisoned chalice.  Here’s what Yauheni Preiherman has to say:

It looks that the ‘old good days’ of affluent Russian subsidies and problem-free credits are back. There are plenty of discussions going on about the Russian rationale behind such generosity and about how long it is going to last. But little is said about the implications of this for the shaky Belarusian economy. And the implications are particularly important for disagreementswithin the elite on the economic policy which are not yet over.