As Putin Pushes a Merger, Belarus Resists With Language, Culture and History

The figurine, unearthed by archaeologists in the ruins of an ancient city on the outskirts of Minsk, the Belarus capital, is a chess piece, probably a knight. It’s proof, in the poet’s view, that his country has existed for a millennium as a culture and polity separate from Russia. “This means that 1,000 years ago people on this spot were sitting playing chess,” said Gleb Labadzenka, the poet. “Our neighbors’ capitals — Moscow, Warsaw, Vilnius — did not even exist at this time, but here we were playing chess.” In Belarus, Ukraine and other parts of the defunct Soviet Union, an endless tug-of-war between Moscow and its former dominions has often been defined by quarrels over oil and gas pipelines, military alignments, and geopolitics. At bedrock, however, are sharp differences over history, culture and language. And it is on this front, Mr. Labadzenka and like-minded Belarusians believe, that their country can best resist pressure from President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to accelerate moves toward a so-called “union state.”

This ill-defined entity comprising Russia and Belarus was first agreed to in the mid-1990s, and after years in abeyance, it is once again on the agenda as Mr. Putin pushes Belarus’s authoritarian president, Aleksandr Lukashenko, to pick up the pace on integrating the two countries. The two countries have eliminated immigration and custom controls for each other’s citizens at their shared border, but the common legislature, flag, anthem, army and currency called for in a 1999 treaty have not happened. Alarm over Russia’s intentions has risen to fever pitch recently, particularly among Mr. Lukashenko’s opponents, amid speculation that the Russian leader wants to force a merger of the two countries so as to give himself a way to stay in power beyond the end of his presidential term in 2024. Full integration between Belarus and Russia would create a new leadership post atop a merged superstate, a position that Mr. Putin, who is barred by the Constitution from staying on as Russia’s president after 2024, could fill without violating the law. The Russian president has denied having any such ambitions, but many in Belarus are nonetheless worried, particularly those who have long accused Mr. Lukashenko of selling hi...