Minsk prepares to counter information pressure from Kremlin

Regnum news agency Chief Editor and former employee of the Belarusian presidential administration Yuri Baranchik was detained in Moscow following a request from the Investigative Committee. Minsk is becoming more aware of the information component in the Russo-Belarusian relations and drawing red lines as regards the criticism of the Belarusian leadership in the Russian media. The Russian media have stepped up coverage of protests against the decree on ‘social dependants’ in Belarus; yet reports have not conveyed a specific attitude to protests in Belarusian cities. Apparently, Minsk is afraid of increased information pressure from the Kremlin amid lingering tension in the Russo-Belarusian relations and compulsion to sign the EEU customs code, which should come into force on July 1^st, 2017.