Hmmm, we could do with some of this in Bulgaria. The pavements of Sofia (sidewalks, as you say) are virtually destroyed, there is a severe garbage disposal crisis and the public health system is in a state of total collapse.
I read somewhere recently that Belarus's preferential gas prices are being renegotiated by Russia, so I guess that would have some impact on the economy, but I don't know how much.
Bulgaria's politics is definitely more similar to the Ukraine - we are now governed by a coalition of 3 coalitions. Perhaps the difference is the underwhelming response to the election campaign from the Bulgarian public.
Julian Gollop