BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

01/02/2007

Russians Still Keen on Union with Belarus

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Despite a recent rift, many adults in Russia would like to merge with another former Soviet republic, according to a poll by the Yury Levada Analytical Center. 64 per cent of respondents would vote in favour of joining the Russian Federation and Belarus in a referendum.

In late 1999, Russian president Vladimir Putin and Belarusian president Aleksandr Lukashenko signed a bilateral treaty, where the two nations agreed to eventually merge their tax systems and currencies.

In late 2006, Russia announced it would double the price it charges Belarus for natural gas. When the Lukashenko administration imposed a "transit fee" on Russian crude bound for Europe, Russia opted to suspend all oil supplies to Belarus.

On Jan. 26, Lukashenko dismissed the proposed merger, saying, "We will never be annexed to another country. We owe absolutely nothing to anyone."

Polling Data

If Russia held a referendum to join Russia and Belarus into a single state, would you vote in favour or against the merger?

In favour

64%

Against

17%

Would not vote

Hard to answer

12%

Source: Yury Levada Analytical Center Methodology: Interviews to 1,600 Russian adults, conducted from Jan. 19 to Jan. 23, 2007. No margin of error was provided.

Source:

http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm/fuseaction/viewItem/itemID/14590