Plans for Russia-Belarus Union Play on Nostalgia.

(From The Moscow Times)

After several years of gathering dust, the longstanding proposal to unite Russia and Belarus into a common state is being revisited, with plans afoot to draw up a constitution proposal later this month. It is unclear, however, whether the move is anything more than an attempt by the Kremlin to court an electorate nostalgic for the Soviet Union.

An alternative scenario much discussed in the Russian press -- that the formation of a Russian-Belarussian union could be used as a way to keep President Vladimir Putin in power beyond 2008 -- is thought less likely, due to strong resistance from officials in both countries to the idea.

A joint commission of Russian and Belarussian officials announced last month that it would draw up a constitution proposal by mid-November, a document that would pave the way for creating the union's executive and legislative bodies. The commission will submit the draft to an intergovernmental group, the Supreme Council of the Union State, by Nov. 15, which would then call for a referendum on the constitution in the two countries, State Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov said after an Oct. 20 session of the commission.

If adopted, the constitution, which calls for establishment of a two-chamber parliament, a Cabinet and a supreme council, would enter into force 30 days after being published in Russian and Belarussian newspapers, Gryzlov said.

The announcement prompted speculation in the Russian press that integration was being accelerated so that Putin could move on to run the common state after his second term expired in 2008.

"The only meaning this move has is to please those who are nostalgic for the Soviet Union in both countries," said Tatyana Stanovaya, an analyst with the Center for Political Technologies.