Belarus will now have a unique ideology

Alexander Lukashenko signed the directive “On the implementation of the foundations of the ideology of the Belarusian state.” Citizens will regularly be told which state they live in and how they should understand its goals and meaning.

Lukashenko’s press service reports: “The directive provides for the approval of the conceptual foundations of the ideology of the Belarusian state, the promotion of an understanding of the statehood of the Belarusian people shared by the whole society, the unification of approaches to ideological work with the population and its assessment, the obligation to implement the ideology of the Belarusian state in all spheres and business entities, regardless of the form of ownership, ensuring involvement in pro-government information and ideological the field of citizens employed in the private sector.”

Thus, it follows from this text that from now on no one in Belarus will turn away from participating in the creation of a uniform and alternative understanding of “what is good and what is bad.”

This idea is specified in the directive itself: “To identify as subjects of the implementation of the ideology of the Belarusian state: state bodies, including local councils of deputies, local executive and administrative bodies; educational, cultural, scientific, sports, healthcare, social protection and other public institutions; legal entities entrusted with the functions of editorial offices of the media. mass media; public associations and political parties; other business entities”.

Actually, it could have been formulated more briefly: all subjects and objects located on the territory of Belarus are obliged to share and implement its unique ideology everywhere within the borders of this state.

But how do the authors of the document see this uniqueness?

The “Fundamentals of the ideology of the Belarusian State” are attached to the directive. They say that although “the Polotsk and Turov principalities became the core of the formation of Belarusian statehood,” and then “the historical forms of Belarusian statehood, which belong to all other related peoples, were the Ancient Russian state, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Russian and Zhemoit, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Russian Empire,” but “the beginning of the formation of the national Belarusian The October Revolution gave statehood. Its result was the proclamation on January 1, 1919 of the SSRB (later the BSSR), which, as an equal entity, was one of the founders of the USSR. The Republic of Belarus has been the legal successor of the BSSR since 1991. The real sovereignty and independence of the Belarusian state were achieved in the period after the establishment of the presidential form of government.”

It is characteristic that this paragraph excludes from the legitimate field the entire spectrum of opposition movements, which trace their genealogy to the Belarusian People’s Republic, a state proclaimed in Minsk on March 25, 1918, and which ceased to exist in December of the same year as a result of the entry of the Red Army into Minsk.

Obviously, it is the Soviet model with some market adjustments that is the basis of the current “unique Belarusian model.” And the socio-economic section of the Fundamentals confirms this: “The Belarusian economic model assumes state regulation of economic activity in the interests of man and society.” It is also argued that “collectivism as a form of vital activity contributes to the consolidation of Belarusian society.”

The document does not explain how to live in this society, for example, for an individualist with a penchant for a parliamentary form of government rather than a presidential one.

But the government shows increased attention to the demands of the majority. A large-scale sociological survey is taking place in the country from April 4 to April 21. This was announced by the director of the Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies (BIS). Oleg Makarov. The publication SB.Belarus Today quotes the scientist: “This study will allow a comprehensive analysis of the current social, economic and political needs of Belarusians, identify key concerns, aspirations and guidelines of society.”

The study is being conducted at the initiative of newly appointed Prime Minister Alexander Turchin as part of the preparation of the concept of the country’s socio-economic development program for 2026-2030. The survey is conducted both online and by apartment-by-apartment survey.

Analyst Sergei Chaly notes on one of the opposition resources that in a society dominated by one leader and one ideology, in order to consolidate power, “you just need to change the political system itself. To transform it from a democracy into an elected autocracy, as political scientists call it. When elections lose their original meaning and turn into their own opposite, it is a demonstration by the people of the degree of approval of the current head of state and his course.”

And in this situation, opinion polls are beginning to play an increased role. They become a means of legitimizing power. Chaly recalls the results of a survey conducted by the BSU Center for Social and Humanitarian Studies in February 2025 – 90.4% of respondents said they were satisfied with the results of the presidential election.