While the countdown of days and hours to the Belarusian-Russian military exercises starting on September 14 has started, there are growing fears in Minsk that the Kremlin is preparing some unpleasant surprises, Anna Nemtsova, the correspondent of The Daily Beast. "Too many questions remain open: how many Russian connections will arrive in Belarus, what kind of weapons will they bring from Russia, and the big question is what will Russian President Vladimir Putin do with these troops when the exercise ends in a week?". Some independent political commentators in Belarus said in an interview with The Daily Beast that it is not so important how many Russian soldiers will take part in the exercises on September 14-20, more importantly, how much heavy weapons will remain and will be deployed in the country on a permanent basis. A number of analysts fear that Putin plans to bring forces from all six Belarusian regions of training troops and landfills to the Ukrainian border for the purpose of violent invasion, Nemtsov reports.. Within the framework of the "strategic" military exercises on the borders with the EU, Russia sets a task to demonstrate to the NATO countries its strength and readiness for any conflict, says the pro-Kremlin expert on military issues Yuri Krupnov. "Now Belarus is vitally important for us, we must act as a united front, later we plan to leave some of Lukashenka's technique to protect Belarus," Krupnov said.. Nemtsov commented: "However, in the midst of the current cold war, not everyone in Belarus is convinced that it is in the interest of their country to turn weapons against their neighbors on the border". In an exclusive interview with The Daily Beast, the deputy of the Belarusian parliament, Kanopatskaya, noted that the political agenda of Moscow has nothing in common with the priority problems that Minsk should solve. "Our country needs reforms extremely," Kanopatskaya said.. The country's leader, Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power for two decades, did everything to suppress the Belarusian nationalist movement, but recently even Lukashenka began to praise the Belarusian history and culture. The government even considered the possibility of opening the first university with teaching in the Belarusian language, told The Daily Beast Kanopatskaya. "The most terrible tragedy will happen if a civil war begins between pro-Russian and anti-Russian groups in Belarus," Krupnov said.. Russian independent military expert Alexander Goltz explained: in fact, if Russia will have to fight with NATO forces in Europe, it will need tanks and other heavy weapons on the territory of Belarus. "At the moment, of what the Russian Ministry of Defense is saying, it is not obvious that some huge forces are arriving in Belarus, but if tomorrow President Vladimir Putin orders a sudden check, the scale of these exercises will immediately change, which is what worries the NATO commanders ", - noted Golts. He stressed that on February 26, 2014, President Putin ordered such a sudden check, which mobilized numerous Russian forces at the Ukrainian border. As Golts noted, Lukashenko deceived the expectations of the Russian Defense Ministry.

"Lukashenko has not fulfilled his promise to provide a base in Baranovichi of the Russian Air Force," Golts said.. "He does not want to be squeezed between Russia and NATO, leading a new cold war". "Is Putin going to finally remove Lukashenko from power?" Nemtsov asks.. "To some extent we are already under the Kremlin's authority, but by law we are an independent country, and as long as this status quo is maintained, Lukashenka will enjoy the power he would like to preserve," Kanopatskaya said.. Translation: inopressa.