In Belarus there is nothing more dangerous than the stigma of “pro-Russian politician”
Belarusian politicians are afraid to declare their sympathy for Russia.
Belarusian political scientist Artem Shraibman, who fled to Kyiv, told the YouTube channel In Time Ukraine this, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“In Belarus, despite the fact that society, to put it mildly, is generally pro-Russian according to all polls, declaring that I am a pro-Russian politician is scary. If they put this label on you, everyone will immediately think that you are a puppet of the Kremlin, you came here to organize Donbass.
There was a story with a pro-Russian business party, which was created in the winter. When this came up, within a day all participants disavowed this pro-Russian label: We are for sovereignty,” said Shreibman.
He believes that Moscow's problem is its inability to use soft power.
“This is a big problem for the Kremlin: how to build a self-oriented force when only a small part of society is ready to accept and support a force that positions itself: we are for a closer union. These ideas are unpopular. If you look at the polls, 70-75% are in favor of an economic union. As soon as you start to deepen: a common army, a common currency, a confederation, you immediately get, maximum, 20%.
For a single currency, in my opinion, 30%. For a merger into one state, less than 10%. Therefore, all politicians in this field must be very careful, they must camouflage their pro-Russian identity, hide their connections with the Kremlin. Does the Kremlin know how to work like that? They don't know how to play delicately. They stick to Lukashenko because they don’t rely on soft power to push through their projects,” says Shreibman.
In Belarus , there is nothing more dangerous than the label of "pro-Russian politician."