‘The Whole World Will Laugh At These Words Of Lukashenka’

A Ukrainian political scientist analyzed the dictator's interview.

Aliaksandr Lukashenka gave an interview to BBC journalist Steven Rosenberg on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan on October 23. Among other things, he discussed the war in Ukraine and how Belarus is involved in the conflict. For example, according to the dictator, in February 2022, our country did not provide Russia with territory for an invasion of Ukraine — Putin simply “turned” part of the Russian troops to Kyiv when they were returning from exercises in Belarus.

Maksym Pleshko, a candidate of philosophical sciences and head of the Ukrainian Center for Belarusian Communications, told the Charter97.org website what such statements mean:

— When I first read this, I was simply torn apart by emotions. The first thing that struck me was the absurdity that concerns Ukraine. We are living in a war. I am from Irpin, my city, like Bucha, Hostomel, and other Ukrainian cities, was invaded by Russian troops and they committed many terrible crimes. And they entered through Belarus, they did it with Lukashenka's knowledge.

I am outraged by his words that “we had exercises there, troops were moving along the border, maybe the Ukrainians provoked it,” and so on. The Russians went to Kyiv, landed in Hostomel, destroyed half of Irpin with mortar fire and committed atrocities in Bucha. And he talks about it as if it were normal. It causes great indignation when you hear such blatant and cynical lies.

There is an expression in Ukraine that describes his words well: “spit in a whore 's face and she'll say it's raining.” Lukashenka talks about a situation related to aggression, an open attack, offering excuses in the style of “I don't know”. How can the earth bear such people? But this is my emotional reaction, and from an expert point of view, his statement only emphasizes the level of control Putin and Russia have over Belarus and its territory.

When Lukashenka says that “it depends on Putin how he will withdraw his troops,” this is an open admission that he freely disposes of his troops on the territory of Belarus. “They could have gone through Kyiv, or they could have gone through Minsk.” A journalist asks if he called Putin to find out what was going on. To which he replies that “I didn’t call, and Putin didn’t call him either,” that “these are his troops, he has the right to dispose of them as he sees fit.” This comment reflects the essence of the Kremlin’s influence in Belarus. Lukashenko is already on the frying pan, he is wriggling out and making up excuses.

It is obvious that these messages are aimed at a domestic audience, at his propaganda media. It is clear that international journalists are aware of the level of cynicism and lies, the whole world will laugh at these words, at such excuses. But for his audience, this is an attempt to justify himself to his own people, like, I am not the aggressor, it is all Volodya.

Belarusians are wary of war on their territory, and the so-called “president” constantly repeats this, but at the same time states that “the national interests of the Russian and Belarusian people coincide”. However, the Belarusian people do not want war on their land and do not want to be involved in the conflict.

And then Lukashenka says that “yes, there were Russian troops on our territory, they have the right to go wherever they want”. That is, in one interview he creates a logical contradiction: Belarusians do not want war, but because of Russia's presence on their territory, Belarus is drawn into the conflict.

In addition, he makes statements about the Belarusian opposition, claiming that “we do not have an opposition, because it should be inside the country and protect the interests of the people”. This sounds absurd and looks like nonsense, but who is it aimed at? Such words are intended for Belarusians who are under the influence of Lukashenka and Russian propaganda. For a sane person, such gibberish makes no sense. It is like Stalin talking about where the opposition is now and why emigrants do not fight for the rights of citizens. Obviously, if they were in Belarus, they would be in prison or physically and morally destroyed.

To summarize, for us, people with common sense, who read different sources and know how to analyze information, his words seem absurd, but for his internal audience, this fits into their picture of the world. Lukashenka broadcasts this surrealism to his citizens, who are under the influence of this propaganda. He chooses such tactics to justify himself to his audience, saying that the interests of the Belarusian and Russian peoples coincide, but at the same time he tries to distance himself from responsibility for the actions of the Russian army.

His words do not matter for objective perception, they matter only for those who live in the propaganda bubble that he created in Belarus. He says this because he is unable to come up with any more stable logical construction. Therefore, he comes up with such hogwash that seems like nonsense to us.

You can support the website Charter97.org

MULTI-CURRENCY ACCOUNT FOR ASSISTANCE:

Bank's name: Bank Millennium S.A.
Address: ul. Stanislawa Zaryna, 2A, 02-593, Warszawa
IBAN: PL97116022020000000216711123
SWIFT: BIGBPLPW
Name of the account holder: Fundacja “KARTA ‘97”
Purpose/title of payment: Donation for statuary aims

You can contact us by the e-mail charter97@gmail.com