With the world looking away, Russia quietly took control over Belarus

Talks of dictator Alexander Lukashenko's Belarus becoming Russia's vassal gained ground in 2020 when the regime violently crushed all forms of descent, with Moscow's full backing.

Two years later, Lukashenko's Belarus is barely independent from the Kremlin.

The Belarusian economy is dependent on Russia's direct and indirect financial contributions, the Russian army is stationed all across the country, and its territory is used to launch missiles against Ukraine.

Russia trains Belarusian troops, the country's opposition is in prison or exile, while the country's official language, Belarusian, is being actively suppressed by the authorities in favor of Russian.

Belarus is also part of the Union State, a political union with Russia that used to slowly integrate Belarus into its warmongering neighbor.

The process gradually accelerated after Lukashenko unconditionally parted with the West in 2020 following the violent crackdown on participants of anti-government protests.

Belarusian law enforcement has raided and shut down independent publishers.

The Tavarystva Belaruskai Movy (Partnership for the Belarusian Language), an NGO promoting the Belarusian language, was shut down.

Belarus has long been the most Russified of the former Soviet republics. During his first presidential term, Lukashenko held a referendum to designate Russian as the second official state language.

The published results showed voters in favor, but the vote itself was marked with controversy with lawmakers and judges deeming it unconstitutional.

Campaigning before the referendum, Lukashenko stated, "nothing great can be expressed in Belarusian. It's a poor language".

According to the 2019 census data, while 56% of Belarusians claim Belarusian as their native language, only 26% reported speaking it in their daily lives.

The actual number of people speaking Belarusian daily is believed to be much lower. However, a Belarusian cultural revival was among the key features of the nationwide 2020 protests.

"The accelerated loss of sovereignty and Russification is a reaction to the Belarusification of society," Korshunau argues.

Speaking Belarusian after 2020 is associated with being opposed to Lukashenko's regime and can lead to fines or imprisonment.

Using the country's original official language has become a risk many are afraid to take.

"Polls show that a great portion of the population doesn't feel safe. People live in a state of permanent stress and threat," Korshunau says.

Although the presence of Russian troops on Belarusian soil doesn't make it technically occupied, the country is undergoing a more extensive and disturbing process of ceding its sovereignty to Russia.

"Occupation can't last long, but colonization very much can," expert in international law Deikalo says.