Narrative Report: “Belarusians are not Welcome in Europe”

Belarus Strategic Communications Centre

Executive Summary

After the falsification of the results of the presidential election in August 2020 and the unprecedented level of violence against dissenters, Aliaksandr Lukashenka’s regime has been persistently promoting the thesis of a failed attempt at a “colour revolution”. Its organisation is blamed on “enemies of Belarus” who allegedly seek to “tear the country into pieces” and enslave its people. The narrative about the black-and-white world, in which Belarus has “enemies” (“collective West”) in addition to “friends” (Russia, China, Asian and African states), the Belarusan propaganda broadcasts continuously, praising “friendly” countries and demonising “unfriendly” ones on any occasion.

The high level of repressions, the rupture of ties with Western partners, and the toxicity of the regime forced a considerable number of Belarusians to leave the country. They left and continue to leave mainly people of working age, owners of demanded professions. Their departure is felt in Belarus as an acute shortage of labour resources. In this connection, the regime tries to bring back at least a part of those who left and to prevent further departures by formulating and launching appropriate messages.

The theme “Belarusians are not welcome in Europe” covers both aspects: how bad it is for Belarusians in Western countries and how good it is at home. The propaganda campaign on this topic in the state media is aimed at denigrating European countries, sowing doubts in those who are only planning to move there, demonstrating the advantages of life at home and motivating at least some of them to return. For this purpose, the propaganda does not shy away from manipulating the most important human feelings – love and longing for home, concern for the wellbeing and happiness of one’s children.

Our research covers the period from September-December 2024. There are 9 media outlets in the sample, including the main state-owned media, as well as two regional state-owned media outlets. These are BelTA news agency, specialised multimedia portal videobel.by, official websites of TV channels Belarus 1, ONT, STV, as well as the publishing house Belarus Today, regional news agency Minskaya Prauda, regional edition Gomelskaya Prauda (news portal Pravda Gomel) and regional newspaper Astravetskaya Prauda.

The sample included 42 media texts, approximately in equal shares from each media outlet. This is not a complete list of publications on this topic, but it is sufficient for obtaining representative data.

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Conclusions

State media broadcast the following narratives:

Belarusians are “second-class people” in Western countries, and this will always be the case. They will never become “our own”.
The rights of Belarusians in Western countries are constantly violated, but nobody cares about it: neither local authorities, nor police, nor school administrations. Poles consider Belarusians as “second-class people” and treat their problems accordingly.
Poland has developed and implements a “policy of hatred towards other
Slavic peoples”, as well as towards all migrants “from the East”, regardless of their country of origin. An example of this attitude is the inhuman attitude of border guards and police officers to migrants on the Belarusan-Polish border.
Modern Polish state policy is xenophobia, chauvinism and neo-Nazism. It has permeated all strata of Polish society.
Belarusian parents who took their children to European countries broke their lives, deprived them not only of a home, but also of a safe and happy childhood.
Belarusians believed the false promises of independent information resources, now they have seen the real life abroad and want to return.
The Belarusian state remains the only defender of the interests of its citizens abroad.
Poland needs Belarusians only as cheap labour force. Belarusians working in Poland are not covered by social guarantees, they work as slaves.
Requirements for the legalisation of migrants are getting stricter, soon many of those who now live and work in European countries will be kicked out.
Poland is “tired” of Belarusians with their problems, support of Belarusians is decreasing and will soon stop altogether.
It is hard and bad to live in the West, and even those Belarusians who have lived and worked there for some time come back. This experience made them realise how good it is at home.
Belarusians don’t need to go anywhere, they are not needed anywhere except at home.
Those who have already left must return. But there will be no amnesty, “forgiveness” or “turning the pages” – if these Belarusians are opponents of the authorities, they will have to answer according to the law. Nevertheless, they still have to come back.

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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