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Narrative Report “17 September – People’s Unity Day”

Belarus Strategic Communications Centre

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Narrative Report “17 September – People’s Unity Day”

Executive Summary

This report, authored by the Belarus Strategic Communications Centre, explores how Belarusian state propaganda manipulates historical narratives surrounding the newly established public holiday – “People’s Unity Day”. A celebration of the “reunification” of Western and Eastern Belarus in 1939, the event has become a cornerstone for rewritten history that supports the authoritarian agendas and foster divisive rhetoric against neighbouring Poland and the West.

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Key Insights:

  • Manipulated Histories: The Belarusian regime promotes narratives that portray Poland as an oppressive colonial force while glorifying the USSR as a liberator. These accounts ignore the complexities of Soviet-Polish relations and downplay Belarus’s rich multicultural heritage.
  • Anti-Western Propaganda: The state media use People’s Unity Day to bolster hostility toward the West, particularly Poland, accusing it of historical oppression and modern-day interference.
  • Unity as a Tool for Control: “People’s Unity” is framed as loyalty to the regime, fostering a climate of unquestioning nationalism while discrediting dissenting perspectives.

Acknowledgements:

The Counter Disinformation Network (CDN) is a collaborative platform that gathers more than 150 information manipulation-countering practitioners from over 30 civil society organisations, universities, news organisations, fact-checking organisations and independents mostly from Europe and North America. The network was initially convened by Alliance4Europe with the aim of protecting European democracy and information integrity. The network works to coordinate projects, respond to major events and crises, distribute research findings to actors who can use it, and facilitate exchange.

Funding Disclaimer:

This report is a public task financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland within the grant competition ‘Public Diplomacy 2024-2025 – the European dimension and countering disinformation.’

The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of the official positions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland

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