Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has finally thrown in the towel to Russia…

Batka Bows for CashBy Tai AdelajaRussia Profile05/25/2011 Pressed up against a rock and the hardest of places, combative Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has finally thrown in the towel, agreeing last week to the sale of stakes in some of his country’s highly sought-after assets. The first salvo in the long-awaited privatization program came with the announcement of a deal to sell a 50 percent stake in the Beltransgaz company to Russia for $2.5 billion. “The Russian side is ready to buy our stake in (pipeline operator) Beltransgaz for $2.5 billion,” Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich told state news agency Belta on Friday. Russia’s gas monopoly Gazprom already owns a 50 percent stake in Beltransgaz, which it acquired through a series of purchases between 2007 and 2010.