Since the first presidential election in Belarus in 1994, Aliaksandar Lukashenka has ruled the country. Every single election campaign has been accompanied by falsifications, protests, detentions, arrests, beatings and torture. Under his rule, Belarus has fallen under strong dependence from Russia, making it impossible for Belarusians to hope for a better future. The Soviet era has been idealised; the USSR is set as a role model, a past to be proud of, and a future to aspire to. The influence of propaganda is immense, with all media controlled by the state. After the falsified presidential election in 2020, I’ve been focusing on internet-era methods of state propaganda, documenting the authorities’ attempts to create an imaginary happy Belarus, with no signs of dissent or protest.
One of Lukashenka’s rituals is to visit factories or industrial plants, meeting the labour collectives there. Such meetings always follow the same scenario: Lukashenka gives a monologue, employees are lined up in motionless rows to listen to him. Sometimes they ask preplanned questions, whilst cameramen record everything from a tried and tested angle, giving viewers near-identical shots from the different places Lukashenka visits. In this way, state television broadcasts an image of communication between government and people; an illusion of dialogue, as well as a sympathetic portrayal of a president amongst his people. The image of the working man is also important: it represents loyalty, because the working classes have always been considered his primary support base.
