EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
War in Ukraine
- February was full of news on Ukraine, primarily because of the new U.S. administration’s efforts to bring peace between Ukraine and Russia. Most of Trump’s efforts during this period were aimed at forcing Ukraine to conclude a bonded deal on the exploitation of its natural resources by U.S. companies and to hold peace talks. At the same time, not a single step on the part of the U.S. has been seen that looks like coercing Russia in this direction.
- Propagandists were delighted by the hyperactive, rude and often tactless actions of Donald Trump and his team, and predicted the imminent victory of Russia in the war with the help of the U.S., as well as the weakening of Europe.
- On February 24, on the third anniversary of the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Lukashenka’s state-controlled media once again repeated the old myths that Russia is fighting Nazism in Ukraine, the West is at war with Russia, and Russia has to defend itself from its aggression.
- “President” of Belarus Aliaksandr Lukashenka continues to justify Putin and deny his guilt for unleashing the war. He says that the Kremlin will “never agree” to sending European peacekeeping forces to Ukraine.
- The propaganda describes pictures of the horrors of war in Ukraine as a contrast against the background of “peaceful and quiet” Belarus in order to emphasize Lukashenka’s merits in preserving peace. Propagandists praise the “president” for preventing the Belarusian army from direct participation in the war.
- More and more often the state-controlled media call for peace talks and claim that Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians should live “in one union.”
- Propagandists and officials insist on Belarus’ full participation in future peace talks on Ukraine.
Belarus
- Propagandists continue to glorify Lukashenka’s merits and promote his image as a unique leader and “father of the nation.”
- In their opinion, Trump’s rise to power has strengthened the position of Belarus on the world stage.
The West
- In February, Belarusian anti-Western propaganda was also focused on events related to the activities of Donald Trump. Some commentators expressed enthusiasm about his first steps as president, while others lamented “trampophilia” and urged not to make illusions about possible improvement of relations with the West.
- The Munich Security Conference held in February revealed serious divergences in the understanding of the tasks of global security of the world between Europe and the U.S. Propagandists of Russia and Belarus rejoiced at the split at the conference and stated that “transatlantic unity has cracked.”
- In light of all that is happening, pro-government commentators are predicting hard times for Europe. The two contradictory statements that have gained the most traction are that the U.S. has abandoned a weak Europe in the face of the threat from the east and that a strong Europe is fighting the U.S. for the resources of Ukraine.
- In February, propagandists commented with indignation on the disconnection of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania from the BRELL “electric ring” shared with Russia and Belarus. They predicted an inevitable rise in electricity prices in these countries, the collapse of their economies and their rapidly growing dependence on the European Union.
- The state-controlled media continue to intimidate the population with the “threat from the West.” At the same time, Minsk itself constantly threatens the West, including with nuclear weapons.
Belarus’ democratic forces
- The propaganda keeps trying to discredit and split the Belarusian democratic movement.
- Officials and actors of the regime directly say that the release of the next groups of political prisoners can take place only in exchange for the lifting of Western sanctions and restrictions against Belarus.
- The Lukashenka regime is still trying to persuade Belarusians living abroad to return home. The state “Commission on Return” continues to operate, but the number of appeals to it is very small.
Relations with China
In Belarus, the need for a “U-turn to China” is increasingly being talked about. In light of the sharp rapprochement between the Putin regime and the Trump administration, dreams of a new global alliance “Russia-US-China” are being expressed.
You can read or download the whole monitoring of Changes in propaganda narratives due to Donald Trump’s first actions as U.S. President at this link.
Материал доступен на русском языке: «Россия и США в одной лодке?»: изменения нарративов пропаганды в связи с первыми действиями Трампа на посту президента США
