Belarusian Review

In recent years, Belarus and Kazakhstan are being further involved in the Russia-backed integration project known under labels of the Eurasian Economic Community, the Customs Union, the newly (re)created Common Economic Space and finally the prospective Eurasian Union. Leadership in all three countries considers this integration project as the most promising foreign policy initiative, though many observers and political commentators were less enthusiastic. The Common Economic Space Agreement that went into effect since January 2012 gives Russia up to 30 million people in Belarus and Kazakhstan, while these countries expand their access to Russia’s sizeable domestic market of more than 140 million new customers. The agreement also emphasizes the free movement of goods and capital across their common borders. Although leaders of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan claim that this project is based on purely economic grounds, no one would deny its greater political implications for the entire post-Soviet space.