Sergei Markov, the head of the Moscow-based Institute for Political Studies, criticized Belarus' former Soviet stable mates, Latvia and Estonia, which joined the EU in 2004, for effectively disenfranchising a quarter of their population and weighed into the debate about whether sanctions should be levied against Minsk following the incumbent leader's disputed recent landslide reelection.
"Latvia and Estonia are less democratic states than Belarus," he said. "As far as sanctions are concerned, they should be imposed on Latvia and Estonia, which have completely excluded 25% of their residents from political life."
Relations between Russia and the two Baltic states have long been marred by controversy over the status of ethnic Russians, who Moscow has often stated are deprived of basic rights.
Markov dismissed Western criticism of Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, who Washington has dubbed "Europe's last dictator" for his authoritarian regime, saying that he had rescued the country from some of the pitfalls that other newly independent countries fell into after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
"People in Belarus consider Lukashenko to be the [country's] savior from oligarchs and gangsters," he said.
Although the Belarusian opposition and European bodies have questioned Lukashenko's 83% election triumph on Sunday, the 51-year-old former collective farm boss, who has been in power since 1994, is known to have support in his homeland for providing relative economic stability in comparison with other former Soviet states.
Markov said Lukashenko had achieved great economic success.
"The [country's] trade with the European Union is at a higher level than with Russia," he said.
The political scientist said that the West would put more pressure on Belarus after the reelection of Lukashenko, who refused to join the "Western anti-Russian coalition and to create a so-called cordon sanitaire around Russia."
He added that Belarus would need investment in the future and one possible way to obtain it would be through a long-discussed union with Russia, based on a model of "one country - two systems."
The idea of a union state first emerged in 1997 to foster political and economic integration, in particular by standardizing taxes and tariffs, but has largely remained on paper. Belarus was to have adopted the Russian ruble as a single currency for the state in 2005, but the move has been postponed.
Sunday's elections in Belarus were held amid intense international scrutiny and what Lukashenko Monday termed "unprecedented pressure from abroad" and an "aggressive opposition profile".
Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a loose union of ex-Soviet republics, said the elections in Belarus were in line with international standards. The United States and the European Union, however, have called for a re-run and said they are considering imposing sanctions against Belarus.
