PropagandaDAILY: Latest hits from pro-Kremlin websites in Belarus

25/05/2020 - 11:09

Protests against Russian propaganda in Ukraine / tsn.ua

Protests against Russian propaganda in Ukraine / tsn.ua

Using the COVID19-related messaging, the pro-Russian propaganda network in Belarus continues to launch metastases in the country's information field. When the State Department and Western grants are no longer enough, when mentioning the "young scum from the opposition" no longer works, a heavy drug like NATO paying for each person infected with the novel coronavirus comes to the aid.

Euroradio has collected all the latest hits for you.

The 'coronacide' of the Belarusian people for NATO's money

The website GrodnoDaily is basing another conspiracy theory on the assumption that the "opposition" is on a "military mission" to spread coronavirus in Belarus. Their permanent author writing under the pseudonym Valer Kantsavoy presents a myriad of brilliant guesses about the Belarusian "regime fighters" "sucking" grants not only from the State Department or European human rights bodies but also from NATO:

"However, their tasks differ from the usual programs to promote gender equality or protect the rights of minorities with gay pride parades. Belarusian opposition activists are very well aware of what they are paid for by the NATO commanders. We are talking here about "military tasks" associated both with intelligence gathering and penetration. This time, the opposition was ordered to make sure that the coronavirus "penetrates" the country.

A "Valery Kontsevoy" has also surfaced on another platform in the pro-Kremlin propaganda network titled Podneprovie Info, which pleases us with the latest analysis. It just seems that the person who published the text on the website was confused by his nicknames. In two texts, where the author's title states "Victor Sumovich", the end of the text has it signed by "Valery Kontsevoy". There is no such error in the other texts signed by "Victor."

Having analyzed posts in popular TV channels, Valery-Victor proceeds to conclude that for each person infected with coronavirus "opposition" is paid... one US dollar.

"I wonder how much they pay for each private, officer, general? How much are they willing to pay for a government official, a politician, or the president? All these budget lines probably also exist in the opposition "business plan." How much, I wonder, will they be paid for infecting their close relatives - father, mother, grandparents, sisters, children?" asks "Valery Kontsevoy".

And the media and bloggers help the "oppositionists" to report on the performance of NATO's "combat mission." He gives an example of a post from the telegram channel, which tells about 50 cases of coronavirus infection in the Military Academy. "This is clearly a report on the work done," guesses the courageous author of GrodnoDaily.

"Fifty infected people, especially soldiers, are multiplied by the dollar rate to get a tidy sum in the pocket of a "regime fighter and "white-red-white patriot." Isn't it genocide of the Belarusian people?"

ПропагандаDaily: геноцид белорусов за деньги НАТО и Бабарико на службе Запада

Viktar Babaryka and the Belarusian oligarchy are rushing to seize power

But it is not only about the coronavirus. The number of articles about the forthcoming presidential election has significantly increased on the websites disguised as Belarusian local news outlets.

Sergei Ivannikov on Vitbich analyzes Viktar Babaryka's recent interview with Salidarnasc (Solidarity) website (gazetaby.com) in which the then Belgazprombank's CEO spoke out about the "parasite state." The article came out in the wake of the interview - the day before Babaryka announced his presidential ambitions.

While SB. Belarus Today -- the newspaper of the Presidential Administration -- almost openly writes that Viktar Babaryka is a Moscow's protege, Vitbich depicts him as a capitalist, neoliberal and nationalist. If this story had come out after Babaryka's announcement of his presidency plans, it could have been seen as part of a cunning multi-movie to remove suspicions of pro-Russianism.

Ivannikov sees Babaryka as a representative of the Belarusian "top class", who influences the country's policy:

"There's no doubt that the president also considers the banker a part of his political agenda, trusts him, and entrusts him with very responsible work," Ivannikov writes. Although Viktar worked for the Russian Gazprom's bank, the Vitbich's author does not find him sympathetic to the ideas of the "Russian world". However, he finds Babaryka sympathetic to "Belarusian nationalism."

Well, why not? Didn't Belgazprombank finance the full collection of Svetlana Aleksievich's books translated in Belarusian? It did. Didn't Babaryka get the title of "Patron of Belarusian culture"? Yes, he did. The author sees any manifestation of Belarusian discourse outside of the Soviet frame or pro-Russian sentiment as pro-Western and "spoiled Polish."

Ivannikov sees a distinct "orange trace" - an allusion to the Orange Revolution in Ukraine - behind the "revolutionary phrases" from the interview. They have a special connotation of the upcoming presidential election, where "once again, the local opposition will get nowhere." But the main action will unfold in the fall.

"From the point of view of the Ukrainian Orange, this is the best time for global political changes of the 'revolutionary type'," predicts Ivannikov. "Today, there is too much "orange" on the historical horizon of Belarus. The possibility of implementing the Ukrainian scenario on Belarusian soil is more real than ever."

However, the publicist does not specify which Ukrainian scenario he is talking about. After all, Russia also had its own scenario, which implied annexing Crimea and blood-shedding in Donbas.

These words of Babaryka are beneficial to the plans of American diplomacy, which aims to seize power and get political metamorphoses of Belarus, Ivanniokov continues. What kind of changes are expected in the country in this case?

"The Belarusian state will be reformatted in such a way that the country will go the way of destruction of its identity which will result in the dissolution of the country in the western economic and geopolitical space."

In this case, Belarus will be dragged into the miserable existence of a border state with its shrinking population and territory. But there is a way out: the prodigal country should return to the cozy bosom of the "Russian world"! This way it will preserve its cultural uniqueness and will be able to develop steadily. However, there is no place for the Belarusian bourgeoisie in the "Russian world". Such a phenomenon cannot arise in the Union State. But the existence of the Russian bourgeoisie, though problematic, is possible.

In the end, everything turns into direct threats. Ivannikov states that any western government, any western NGO should realize that their actions in Belarus mean aggression against Russia: "The West should understand that one small Belarusian city is much more important for the Russian society than a dozen of European capitals. And an intrusion - obvious or hidden - by the West into the Russian world will have catastrophic consequences for the aggressor."

One can definitely expect that the closer the election is, the louder the pro-Russian propaganda network will shout about the "orange" threat, about the Ukrainian scenario and the predatory West which wants to drag away the "small" and weak Belarus.