Belarus Outlaws ‘Kitchen Talks,’ Mandates Ideology Officers

Belarusian authorities are escalating efforts to enforce ideological conformity across society, with new measures now extending into private companies and even personal conversations. In a striking move, the pro-presidential ‘Belaya Rus’ party leader, Olga Chemodanova, has publicly warned citizens to refrain from discussing information from non-official sources, specifically cautioning against traditional ‘kitchen talks’—a historical symbol of private dissent.

This public warning coincides with the implementation of a presidential directive that now requires even private businesses to appoint an employee responsible for ideological work. These new ‘ideology officers’ must have their candidacies approved by local executive committees and district administrations, ensuring state oversight. An opposition journalist, posing as a private entrepreneur, confirmed the new policy after being advised by a Minsk official on how to appoint such a person and receive guidance for conducting ideological events.

Chemodanova, speaking on state television, was explicit in her instructions to the public. “It is strictly forbidden to do this if you have read information from an unofficial source,” she stated, referencing the tendency to gather in kitchens and discuss news. She argued that trusting anything but official state channels, such as the Ministry of Defense, is dangerous amidst an ongoing “information war.” Hinting that critical thoughts arise from idleness, she drew a direct line to the mass protests of 2020 as a cautionary tale against unverified information.

This push for ideological purity is being driven from the top. President Alexander Lukashenko recently admonished the country’s National Academy of Sciences for a lack of tangible results, demanding they produce work that serves the state. He framed scientific research not merely as an economic issue, but as a matter of “national security” and, more starkly, “a question of the future of our country, our people, and our very survival.” While criticizing their output, Lukashenko maintained that Belarus possesses the necessary “human potential” to meet his demands, underlining the expectation that all sectors, including science, must align with the state’s agenda.