For two decades Belarus has clung to the past. Led by President Aleksandr Lukashenko since 1994, the country's political system remains largely unreformed since the Soviet era. It has maintained a strong relationship with Russia, especially in military and security matters. Certain Soviet institutions, such as the KGB, endure in the country, and the economy is still largely state-controlled. But change is inevitable even in Belarus. Spurred by the EU vote on Feb. 15 to remove most of the sanctions on Belarus that have been in place since 2010, the country is undertaking a transformation that will affect its foreign policy as much as its economy.
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