Political scientist explains why Lithuanian authorities scare their citizens with Belarusian tanks

Lithuania is installing anti-tank barriers at its airports, creating an unhealthy atmosphere and stirring up military hysteria in the country – as noted by Dean of the Journalism Department of the Belarusian State University, political scientist Aleksei Belyaev in his talk with Alfa Radio

“Anti-tank concrete pyramids – known as dragon’s teeth – are placed mostly along borders and should be part of a single defence line. They are not just randomly spotted structures that can be bypassed on the right or left. The essence of such defence is to create an extended line, stretching for tens or even hundreds of kilometres, that completely overlaps the border. This should be backed up by the appropriate military structures: concrete gun and wooden emplacements (bunkers). Dragon’s teeth are used to impede the advances of tanks and mechanised infantry,” the expert explained.

“It is just a waste of money. In this way, the authorities are creating an unhealthy atmosphere, fuelling military hysteria in the country, as we see in Poland, for instance. Citizens of Lithuania are being frightened by their own government. First, the population was intimidated by the explosion of the Belarusian nuclear power plant, with people rushing to buy iodine pills in pharmacies. Now they are frightening their people with Belarusian tanks,” Aleksei Belyaev noted.

“All this, from border mines in Poland to the erection of useless fences at airports, refers to psychological operations aimed at militarising society and inflaming tensions. It also opens up opportunities for lucrative deals for some political dealmakers, since military spending is difficult to control. Everything is shrouded in mystery,” the political analyst added.