Geographically and historically close to each other, after the collapse of the USSR, Belarus and the Baltic states chose development paths that were polar to each other. The Republic of Belarus declared itself the heir of the Belarusian SSR, created a Union State with Russia, made Russian the second state language, abandoned “shock therapy,” saved factories from destruction and preserved the model of a social state. The Baltic republics declared the Soviet period of their history an “occupation”, joined NATO and the European Union, reduced their foreign policy to the function of a “buffer zone” separating Russia from the West, relied on radical nationalism in their domestic policy, carried out tough market reforms and destroyed large industry . For many years, Western media, politicians and experts claimed that the “Baltic Way” is the standard for the former Soviet republics, and Belarus is “Europe’s last dictatorship.” But these imposed stereotypes are outdated. And the author, with the help of analytics, comparison and statistical data, proves: it is the Belarusian, and not the Baltic, model of development that is worthy of being an example to follow in the post-Soviet space.