Belarus state TV repeats Kremlin propaganda attacks on US dollar

US sanctions will lead to the decline in trust in the dollar, and in a few years the US currency will collapse. This “prophecy” about the fate of the American currency appeared on the screens of Belarusian televisions on December 23.

“Experts predict oblivion of the dollar: the active application of sanctions by the US government seriously undermines the value of the dollar as a store of value. Over the years, this will lead to a reduction in the use of the American currency, Russian experts believe. The US dollar will simply lose its status as a reliable store of value and means of payment,” the news anchor from  Belarus 1 reports with a serious face.

Who are the “experts”? 

Euroradio found the “experts” mentioned by the Belarusian TV presenter. For the first time the words about the collapse of the dollar due to the sanctions - almost the same words that sounded on the air of BT - were said in the Russian information field six years ago. And by not just anyone, but Vladimir Putin himself!

“By imposing economic sanctions against Russia, the United States undermine investor confidence in the dollar as a reserve currency. The well-being of the same United States depends to a large extent on the confidence of investors, foreign holders of the dollar and American securities. Trust is clearly undermined,” this is how the Russian president reacted to US sanctions against Russia back in 2014 after actions in southeastern Ukraine.

Years passed, but confidence in the dollar did not disappear. This did not prevent Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov from repeating Putin's thesis in 2018. And on December 23, 2020, Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank of Russia Alexey Zabotkin made a similar statement:

“The active use of the sanctions regime in recent years, which was carried out by the US administration, seriously undermines the value of the US dollar as a reliable store of value and means of payment,” Zabotkin said.

It turns out that Belarusian television simply copied the Russian agenda about the collapse of the dollar in its news release. State propaganda reacts to US sanctions, but using other people's words.

Do US sanctions have any effect on the dollar?

“Such statements are, of course, difficult to comment on without laughing. The whole experience of Belarusian life and the Belarusian economy: we have never given up the dollar before, nor will we give up in the near future,” Uladzimir Luzhniou, editor-in-chief of the Myfin.by portal, tells Euroradio. "Confidence in the Belarusian ruble is not increasing. According to statistics, it can be seen that most people have their savings in US dollars. I see no reason that confidence in the dollar may be lost.

As for Russia, the share of Russia's use of the dollar in world trade is less than two percent. Even if some of these payments are transferred from the dollar to other currencies, hardly anyone will notice.”