Belarus as a liminal space for Russia’s ontological security before and after the 2020 protests

Abstract

The article uses the ontological security framework and the concept of liminality to analyze Belarus liminal status vis-a-vis Russia and the role it has played in Russia’s ontological security seeking before and after the 2020 Belarus Awakening. It argues that while the entire near-abroad, and, in particular, Ukraine have been important in terms of Russia’s post-imperial ontological security seeking strategies, Belarus occupies a unique position with respect to Russia’s securitized identity because of its perfectly marginal or liminal status. This has to do with the fact that, in the Russian geopolitical gaze, Belarus has remained almost unseparated from the Russian Self. Furthermore, the 2020 protests challenged this status but did not entirely eliminate it, leading to a restructuration of Belarus’ liminality.