This is how Russia controls the news from Belarus – VG

On Tuesday afternoon, representatives of the Russian state media met with the infamous leader of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko (65), for an interview.

In this first interview of the president after the controversial election that has triggered mass demonstrations, there were statements by Lukashenko that surprised many.

The man who has ruled the country for 26 years, seemingly with no plans to retire, was suddenly much softer.

– Yes, perhaps I have been sitting too long, quoted by the TASS news agency, which was one of several Russian media present at the interview.

– Teacher: – «Objectively»

That the news flow from Belarus looks quite different if you follow the Russian state-controlled media is an indisputable fact, says Dmitry Dubrovsky, professor of human rights and associate professor at the Moscow Higher School of Economics, to VG .

– Russia has adopted a line in which it should appear that they are reporting completely objectively. But mostly they only transmit official information directly from the Belarusian authorities. Therefore, the news seems quite objective and the writing is more neutral and moderate than what we see in Belarus. At the same time, the Russian media also never talks to the Belarusian opposition, says Dubrovsky.

Marginalized opposition

reubrovsky believes that Russian coverage of the demise of Belarusian opposition politics Maria Kolesnikova follows the usual pattern of Russian news coverage.

– It is very “neutral”, but they do not provide information from sources other than the Belarusian authorities. They do not cross with the victims of the exercise of power by the authorities, they only transmit public information from Belarus, he tells VG.

Contradictions to the line of authorities are, in general, rarely the case in the official Russian media, says the professor.

– It rarely happens that you mention or talk to opposition figures, but then they always invite you to the very marginal and very radical, so that they quickly seem extreme. Furthermore, it sends a signal to viewers that the media are “generous” and “neutral”, as they include the opposition in their broadcasts.

Professor Dubrovsky himself is someone who has been informed of the cost of taking action against the Russian authorities. He lost the job he loved, as head of human rights studies at Smolny University in St. Petersburg, because he spoke freely with foreign journalists.

Painful doubts about Navalny

The poisoning of the Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny is another piece of news in which the credible dissemination of the facts by the Russian media can be clearly seen, the professor believes.

– The Berlin hospital has proven that Navalny was poisoned. It happened and we have no reason to doubt it. But the Russian media continues to refer to the “alleged poisoning”, or the German authorities “claiming” that he was poisoned. President Putin’s spokesman is frequently quoted as saying, for example, that Navalny may also have been poisoned in Germany.

On Tuesday afternoon, several Russian media outlets reported how the Russian news channel RT was denied additional information that they had requested from the Charité Hospital in Berlin.

Author: – Designed to confuse

The fact that one of the invited channels for Tuesday’s interview with Lukashenko was Russia Today only confirms how close the Russian media is to power in Belarus, Dubrovsky believes.

With its broadcasts in English, RT is a powerful player on the international media landscape and claims to reach 700 million people with its broadcasts.

The author of “McMafia,” a book that later became a television series about the influence of the modern Russian mob, Misha Glenny, says the difficulty with RT is that some of the news coverage is very good and genuine.

– The trick is to distinguish it from the propaganda. Russians have come a long way since the days of Pravda, the Communist Party newspaper. At the time, you knew at least it was all bullshit, Glenny tells The Guardian, explaining:

– RT is designed to be confusing. The mix of the real and the absurd makes you feel disoriented again, and I guess that’s probably the point, says Glenny.

Conspiracy theories

Professor Dubrovsky tells VG that calling Russian state television “media” is wrong.

– Being described as “foreign media” can be said to be the creative dimension of Russian foreign policy. Only foreigners see channels like RT as media, Russians know that it is only a body of the authorities.

While the Western media often refer to Lukashenko as “Europe’s last dictator,” the president is portrayed as a tough leader in Russia, a father of the entire nation who works hard to plan for the next stage of the development of Russia. his country, Dubrovsky said.

– The interview with Lukashenko will be completely uncritical, and the journalists together with Lukashenko will build a narrative about a global conspiracy against Belarus, Dubrovsky told VG just before the interview with the Belarusian leader took place.

Soon after, there are reports on the Russian news agency RIA. Lukashenko is reported to say that it is the United States that controls Telegram’s opposition channels in the country.

“We all know who is behind all these Telegram channels. They are Americans. We must all understand that this is not Belarus. Their main target is Russia. Therefore, do not relax!” Lukashenko is quoted by the journalist in the radio channel “Moscow speaks”.