[The economist] 20230627 A dictator reborn

 

It has been over two decades since Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus’s scheming dictator, has enjoyed such a good press in Russia. ⁠
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Throughout the weekend, Kremlin propagandists lauded his role in halting the mutineer Yevgeny Prigozhin at the gates of Moscow.⁠
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Ukraine aside, Mr Lukashenko is the most public beneficiary of the short-lived rebellion of Mr Prigozhin and his Wagner Group mercenaries. ⁠
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In the three years since Vladimir Putin's promise of police backing saved him from a popular uprising after he stole an election, the Belarusian leader has played second fiddle to an increasingly dominant next-door neighbour.⁠
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By helping to conclude a deal between the Russian president and his convicted former cook and associate, Mr Lukashenko has rebounded. But to read why his role in halting the march is probably exaggerated, (the economist / instragram)

** laud 칭창하다

** mercneary 용병, 돈이 목적인

** fiddle 조작, 손대기 *play second fiddel (to something / somebody) (~보다) 못한 취급을 받다