Lukashenka Hooked By Russian Propaganda

It is getting harder for the dictator to cheat the nation without Russian propaganda TV channels.

The conflict situation regarding broadcasting of Russia 24 TV channel near Staubtsy has a twist ending. It turned out that according to the Ministry of Information, Russia 24 TV channel was not included in the list of foreign channels permitted in the territory of Belarus.

How successful are attempts of the Belarusian government in resistance to Russian propaganda? And why, despite major efforts, do most Belarusians adhere to the Russian view of the world?

"The Belarusian television promotes Russian propaganda"

Political analyst Andrei Ehorau believes that the Belarusian authorities are still not able to block the Russian propaganda.

- Well, they do not try hard, the expert notes. - An incident with Russia 24 is associated exclusively with the fact that Belarus, in principle, strictly control all the media. It turns out that only nine channels of so-called "social package" are allowed to broadcasting. It means that a music channel is not allowed in a bar,

which sounds really stupid.

Meanwhile, according to the political scientist, the Russian propaganda strongly affects the minds of Belarusians. And their view of the world has barely changed.

- About a half of Belarusians adhere to the position of Russia, other 15-16% supports a different point of view. And as we can see, the Belarusian television has a miserable influence on it, the expert notes. - Due to neutral manner of news feed on the same Crimea and Donbas, the tension and hysteria are not as high as among Russians. The situation in Belarus is much better. Nevertheless, it penetrates into consciousness.

The reason for it, according to the political scientist, is that the Russian propaganda is supported by the Belarusian media.

- This is only the tip of the iceberg. The propaganda is based on already existing ground of the public opinion, which are being spread by the Belarusian television as well, Andrei Ehorau explains. - This is also a public position - we are Russians here, Russian language is a native one. It although goes through Russian movies, books, and the education system. We miss a normal work with an identity. There is no freedom for our national figures in culture. It all promotes "the Russian peace", which is used by the Russian propaganda.

The expert also draws attention to the constant topic of our "glorious Soviet past."

- Just watch Belarusian TV channels - they are flood with shows about the Soviet Union! The other day I saw a documentary about Yakovlev - Soviet aircraft designer who liked Stalin, and it makes you think that the collapse of the Soviet Union was a disaster. This is a traditional nostalgia for the Soviet past - this is the very ground the Russian propaganda is based on.

According to the expert, the issue needs a constant work upon.

- Even if the Belarusian television somehow tones down the Russian propaganda, in a long-time perspective it, anyway, promotes greater penetration of the propaganda into minds of Belarusians, Andrei Ehorau concludes.

"The Russian propaganda has prompted Lukashenka a new social contract: loyalty in return for survival"

An expert of the Independent Institute of Socio-Economic and Political Studies (IISEPS, Vilnius) Siarhei Nikalyuk believes that the local authorities are really concerned about the influence of the Russian propaganda.

- Regarding the Russian space, the authorities have long been concerned about this problem. In particular, it makes itself evident in the fact that Russian TV channels are censored. After the release of "The Godfather" in Russia, all Russian programmes are issued an hour later. Of course, to some extent the authorities are interested in reduced influence of the Russian media.

But, according to experts, it is not so easy to do.

- How is it possible to simply ban channels of the union state? At the moment, it bears more minuses than pluses. Although everyone knows that minuses exist now.

Meanwhile, the authorities have learned how to extract a benefit for themselves, the sociologist believes. At least it happened during the last presidential campaign in 2015.

- "Crimea's ours" raised some hysteria, which positively affected potential supporters of the government, who have in their origin a so-called "Soviet person" with imperial ambitions, Siarhei Nikalyuk notes. - Of course, the imperial degree of a Belarusian differs from that of a Russian one, but it does exist. And within 2014 and 2015 the IISEPS recorded the so-called anomalies: when amid real income drop, the attitude towards the government and the first person was abnormally high.

The Russian propaganda has prompted Lukashenka a new social contract.

- Previous presidential elections were based on loyalty in return for income growth, but it did not happen. The last elections did not use that scheme and abandon it before the elections in Crimea. And then the Crimea, the war in Donbas happened. Powerful Russian propaganda has prompted a new social contract: loyalty in return for survival. And if you remember, Aliaksandr Ryhoravich used to say in all his speeches: we are alive, we live in peace - this is the main thing and the main achievement of our government. And in most cases it worked.

The sociologist also notes that the perception of the Belarusians concerning the Crimean events has slightly changed.

- The poll conducted in June by IISEPS shows that 60-65% of Belarusians percept events in Ukraine and in particular in Crimea through the lens of Russian propaganda. And these indicators have not faced significant changes recently, Siarhei Nikalyuk states.

Anastasiya Belenkaya, Zautra Tvaye Krainy