And this is a good progress on his part. Russian pressure is explained by other reasons. What is really happening is that oil and gas mafia around Chernomyrdin's Gasprom is basically opposing integration in the CIS, because their greed goes beyond any normal rational. What they prefer to do is to keep the situation as it is and suck as much as possible from the republics of Central Asia. But if somebody thinks that this money somehow benefit Russian people, one is mistaken.
Russian people get nothing out of it.
All the profits go into pockets of this oil and gas mafia and finish off in Western banks. It was he who in the past effectively blocked all Lukashenko's proposals for integration, and changed the tune only now when the survival of their regime is at stake. But he is doing it exclusively for appearances and not serious about it. Russian interference in Tadjikistan has also nothing to do with the desire to drive Tadjikistan in the new Union. Russia has legitimate security interests in that part of the world and has the right to protect them.