Good nondemocratic state creative writing example

Belarus would be the non-democratic country I would recommend for the location of a spy thriller. Alexander Lukashenko rules Belarus as a ruthless dictator. Part of the USSR for years, Belarus declared its independence in 1990 when the USSR fell apart, and operates as an independent country.
In truth, it is anything but independent. As with all dictatorships, the economy is a disaster. They are totally dependent on Russia for trade and have received over $3. 5 billion in loans from Russia to prevent total disintegration. In reality, Lukashenko is a puppet of Vladimir Putin.
With the reduction of the US as an active world leader by Obama, Putin has started to recreate the old Soviet Union. That motive is what is driving his covert invasion of Ukraine. He has already seized the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine and is attempting to exert control over Eastern Ukraine where so called ‘ rebels’ are fighting with the Ukrainian Army. Putin is reportedly looking at fomenting a rebellion in Latvia and Lithuania, former USSR member states, very similar to the rebellion in Ukraine. Since leaving the USSR, both governments have sought to align themselves with the West generally and specifically with the EU. Local ‘ rebels’ claiming Russian heritage would seek to overthrow those governments, and align politically and economically with Russia, under Putin’s plan.
Belarus shares borders with Russia, Ukraine, Latvia and Lithuania. Its capital city of Minsk is a classic old European city that would lend itself to great photography and video. Minsk could be set up as a central home of a spy network seeking to foment rebellion in all the states bordering Belarus, on behalf of Russia, while Belarus declares itself just a simple state trying to survive.