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Rumors in Moscow that Putin will fire his advisor Levitin due to Butina's US prosecution deal, in attempt to mitigate fallout to Kremlin from whatever she has told investigators.
In other rumors, Putin plans to offer Lukashenka job as "General Secretary of CIS" as inducement to get him to agree to politically merge Belarus into Russia.
But nothing beats the surrealism in the third rumor. Putin plans to (finally) fire Vladialav Surkov. Not for losing Ukraine or embezzling millions, but for...secretly co-owning and co-managing a fringe UK record label, under the cover name McVlad Surkov.
Warning:...can't unsee. 
"The Whole Russia: a theatre, all its politicians: entertainment executives."
By the way, my read is this is little more than trolling by Surkov of EU/UK sanctions, under which this should *not* have been allowed to happen. He had himself registered at a UK corporatipn just days after the Brexit vote.
As if on cue, Kremlin just announced Lukashenka will visit Moscow to meet Putin tomorrow, Saturday, Dec 29.
For context: Russia has recently threatened Belarus to curtail gas supplies, economic subsidies, if Lukashenko doesn't proceed with previously planned political unification (=single president, Duma, currency). Lukashenka has been holding out, arguably to not lose next elections.
Not enough surrealism for one day? So ahead of his, quite possibly, fateful trip to Moscow, Lukashenka showed up at a New Year ball not with his wife, but with...Miss Belarus 2018. Then he slow-danced her.. Earlier this year he offered her a job at a kolhoz.
"Will you be drive my tractor?"
Late tonight. @MedvedevRussiaE's office announce the creation of a "working group for fast-track integration between Russia and and Belarus". Boy, they are hurrying up for some reason.
Thread update: after today's meeting with Putin, Lukashenka looked stressed. Putin scolded him for slow-walking the long-agreed integration. Lukashenka tried to joke that "we meet so often that we are boring each other", to which Putin retorted "we can never bore each other"
Clearly Lukashenka was pressured to make concessions toward integration (or Belarus would lose up to 10 b USD in withheld aide). The rush to do this now suggests there may be truth in this
I don't think Lukashenka can win 2019/2020 elections if he caves in. Thus the offer for him to become figurehead of CIS, while Putin takes over the joint presidency. Question is independence-mindedness among Belarus population will tolerate this extorted unification.
Oh no...Putin offered Lukashenka to stay and "play hockey with me tonight but he said no...I can understand him...lots of things for him go do at home". Things are as icy as they can be.
