Development of Interregional Relations between Russia and Belarus in the Context of Digitalization of the Unified Scientific and Technological Space of the Union State

The political crisis, which has been going on in Belarus since August 2020, is accompanied by crisis phenomena, also in the economy: gold and foreign exchange reserves are declining, public debt is growing, the credit rating is the lowest in Europe (B/B), warehouses are overstocked with unrealized products. Russia, which accounts for about half of Belarus' foreign trade, supports Belarus and promotes closer integration within the Union State. Hence the dualism of Belarus' foreign policy: on the one hand, it votes synchronously with the Russian Federation against UNGA resolutions, and on the other hand, it benefits from trade and economic cooperation with neighboring states. At the same time, there were also aggravations in relations, such as the detention in 2017 of Belarusian citizens on charges of espionage, mutual expulsions of embassy staff.