Those with authoritarian aspirations (like Trump) seem to flock together and migrate in the direction of genuine authoritarian rulers. The story linked below from NPR I found interesting.
Why Belarus is so involved in Russia's invasion of Ukraine - March 11, 2022
https://www.npr.org/2022/03/11/belarus-ukraine-russia-invasion-lukashenko-putinExcerpt from article...
Why is Belarus aiding the Russian invasion?In short, Russia has helped Belarus — and specifically its authoritarian leader, Alexander Lukashenko — and now, Russian President Vladimir Putin has called in the favor.
For decades, Lukashenko had played Belarus as something of a neutral state, shifting his overtures from Russia to Western nations and back as his needs suited.
But a key turning point came in 2020, after Lukashenko declared victory in a controversial, disputed presidential election.
Lukashenko's claim of a landslide victory — 80% for Lukashenko versus 10% for his popular opponent, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya — was instantly disputed, both by the opposition and by the U.S. and its allies in Europe.
In Belarus, protests erupted on an unprecedented scale. They lasted for weeks, with security forces arresting thousands but still failing to suppress the huge numbers of demonstrators in the capital Minsk.
Facing the biggest popular challenge in his 26 years of power, Lukashenko turned to Putin for help. And Putin delivered, announcing that the Russian military stood ready to intervene "if necessary."
An emboldened Lukashenko embarked on a vicious crackdown, with mass arrests and torture of detainees. His government jailed political opponents and journalists, shut down human rights organizations and criminalized displays of what it called "extremism."
More than 37,000 people were detained in the year ending May 2021, according to a new report by the United Nations.
"These arrests and detentions, accompanied by the unlawful use of force that caused serious bodily injury and harm, and followed by torture and ill-treatment, including rape, were on a large scale and had the effect of exerting pressure on the population, to stifle dissent and public displays of opposition to the incumbent President," the report states.
Lukashenko's actions came at a cost, says Tatsiana Kulakevich, a political scientist at the University of South Florida who is originally from Belarus.
"The door was closed towards the West, and he had only one option: Russia," Kulakevich said. "He needs support, he needs money. And Putin provided that to him."
* The excerpt above is from the much longer article linked above which is enlightening.
