At the end of August, Aleksander Lukashenko met with Georgy Filimonov, governor of Russia’s Vologda region, and proposed cooperation in three areas: machinery, food, and construction. Both sides aim to reach $1 billion in trade over the next five years. That would be a 50 percent increase compared with current levels. The First National Channel of the Belarusian Radio discussed the results and effectiveness of the meeting. On the August 27, 2025, broadcast of the program “Current Microphone,” economist Dmitry Shvaiba said talks with Russian regional governors are more effective than any international meetings because they lead to breakthroughs in bilateral trade.
“Meetings with governors of Russian regions are all about specifics and practice, since trade figures in exports and imports practically double after these meetings,” the guest said.
Aleksander Lukashenko’s meetings with Russian regional leaders do in fact contribute to growth in trade between Belarus and those regions. However, the figures do not double.
In June 2023, Lukashenko met with the governor of the Lipetsk region. We could not find exact trade data with this region, but it is known that by the end of 2024 trade had grown by 11 percent, not doubled.
In September of the same year, Lukashenko met with the governor of the Leningrad region, where Belarus’ trade reached $1 billion last year. But the increase compared with the period before the talks was at least 7 percent.
With the Vologda region, after Lukashenko met with its governor Oleg Kuvshinnikov, trade in 2024 increased by 8 percent.
