The evolution and influence of Russian and Belarusian propaganda during the Belarus presidential election and ensuing protests in 2020

ABSTRACT

The process of interaction between the political regimes of Belarus and Russia in the critically important conditions of the presidential election and subsequent protests in 2020 calls into question the prospects for Belarusian democracy and national sovereignty. This report analyzes the role of state propaganda in this process by examining its most important components, including its mechanisms, evolution, and influence. Using qualitative framing and content analysis of media news stories in both countries before and after the election, as well as a focus group and surveys conducted after the election, the authors examine how Russian and Belarusian state-sponsored propaganda framed each other, how these post-election events affected propaganda in general, and how propaganda affected public opinion. They have identified changes in all three areas prior to and after the election as significant and ultimately determined by the geopolitical fight for influence in post-Soviet space.

RÉSUMÉ

C’est l’avenir de la démocratie et la souveraineté nationale du Bélarus qui sont jeu dans ses relations avec la Russie au moment critique de l'élection présidentielle de 2020 et des protestations qui ont suivi. Ce rapport porte sur le rôle de la propagande d’État – ses mécanismes, son évolution et son influence – dans les relations entre les deux pays. L’étude repose sur une analyze du contenu et du cadrage qualitatif d’articles de nouvelles parus dans les deux pays avant et après l'élection, ainsi que sur l’observation d’un groupe de discussion et des sondages réalisés après l'élection. Les auteurs examinent la manière dont les véhicules de la propagande d’État au Bélarus et en Russie s’influencent mutuellement, comment ils réagissent aux événements qui suivent l'élection et dans quelle mesure ils marquent l’opinion publique. Sur ces trois questions, les changements observés à la suite de l'élection s’inscrivent dans le contexte du conflit géopolitique qui se déroule actuellement dans l’espace postsoviétique.

KEYWORDS:

• Russian propaganda
• Belarus election
• mass protests
• geopolitics

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Dr. Yuri Drakokhrust for his important contribution to gathering the public statements for the qualitative framing analysis.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Appendix: Examples of statements by Russian/Belarusian politicians and public figures before and after the presidential election

Russia before the election (RBN)

RBN 1

Vladimir Zhirinovskii, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia: “If an invitation comes (from Belarus) to come to the Victory Parade on May 9, no one will come from our side. We will condemn in the harshest manner everyone who goes to Minsk. This is unacceptable, this is a mistake and a crime on the part of Lukashenko, and we should not participate in this crime.”⁴²

RBN 2

Dmitrii Kiselev, General Director of the Russian international news agency “RT” and Deputy General Director of VGTRK (the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company): “The deprivation of the accreditation of a Russian journalist – a representative of Channel One in Minsk – is an impossible, extreme measure, clearly an overreaction. This can go too far. It is not necessary now.”⁴³

RBN 3

Dmitii Peskov, Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation: “Peskov described as insinuations the reports that Russia could send someone to Belarus to destabilize the situation. The Kremlin knows about the detention of 33 Russian citizens in Belarus, whom Minsk considers employees of Wagner’s private military company, and it is expecting ‘comprehensive information’ from Minsk.”⁴⁴

RBN 4

Dmitrii Peskov, Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation: “‘Here we can answer unequivocally that the Russian Federation has never interfered, does not interfere, and is not going to interfere in anyone’s electoral processes, especially those that are taking place in our ally, Belarus,’ said Peskov, commenting on the statement of President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko about Russia’s alleged interference in the election in the republic.”⁴⁵

RBN 5

Mikhail Mishustin, Prime Minister of the Russian Federation: “During the meeting with Lukashenko, Mikhail Mishustin called for finding new measures to implement the Union Treaty. ‘I would like to note the prospects of our fraternal allied relations, which are laid down in the Union Treaty.[…] If we still made an effort with the governments of Belarus and Russia, we could find a sufficiently large number of new measures that would reveal the possibilities of the Union Treaty in a new way.’”⁴⁶

RBN 6

Vladimir Solov′ev, host of the program Evening with Vladimir Solov′ev on the television channel Russia-1: “Lukashenko has always played in the ‘Belovezhskaia Pushcha’ and not in the ‘Union State.’ And what is the Union State? I have heard this formulation since the time of El′tsin [Yeltsin]. Not, well, of course, awesome – the Union State, only Belarus did not say anything about 08.08 [the war in Georgia], Belarus, as I understand it, did not say anything about the Crimea.”⁴⁷

RBN 7

Nikolai Starikov, Russian writer, leader of the Great Fatherland Party: “On one hand, Lukashenko is needed, but on the other, at a certain stage he became an obstacle to further integration.”⁴⁸

RBN 8

Konstantin Zatulin, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs: “We all understand that at this stage Lukashenko will not give up power. Another question is how you can govern Belarus with such a gap that has formed between the government and the people? What Lukashenko has done in recent years proves enough that this person does not like Belarus today. If he thought not about himself, but about Belarus, he would have found a compromise.”⁴⁹

RBN 9

Vladimir Zhirinovskii, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia: “It is better (even if) he is preventively withdrawn from the election, proceeding from the fact that he sees that the citizens do not want his re-election. Or he releases all those presidential candidates who were arrested, registers them, and they go to the election on August 9, and the country will elect another president. And he will accept defeat. It would be better to calm down all the inhabitants of Belarus, although we do not know the real program of the other candidates.”⁵⁰

RBN 10

Vladimir Zhirinovskii, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia: “Belarus is ripe to end the Lukashenko regime. He betrayed everyone: Russia, the West, Ukraine, and his people. He behaves like a tyrant. We supported him 20 years ago. But he does everything so that we do not have any kind of union. He lives by the principle of a parasite, a dependent; take away Russia’s support – everything will collapse there.”⁵¹

RBN 11

Aleksei Venediktov, editor-in-chief of the radio station “Echo of Moscow”: “On the air of the program Let’s Observe he answered a listener’s question: ‘Will Russia accept Lukashenko’s defeat?’ ‘With happiness. With salute and parade. By the way, this is the reason for the parade.’”⁵²

RBN 12

Aleksei Pushkov, Senator, Chairman of the Federation Council Commission on Information Policy: “The frank involvement of Belarus in the anti-Russian games has begun. The Lublin Triangle is directed against Russia from all angles. Minsk is encouraged to carry out further actions against Moscow.”⁵³

RBN 13

Dmitrii Bolkunets, political scientist, lecturer at the Higher School of Economics: “It is obvious that Russia is not interested in destabilizing Belarus. And Lukashenko and his team use every opportunity before the election to accuse Russia of interfering in the Belarusian election. What for? Very simple. Now Lukashenko is trying to prove to the West that everyone is interfering in his election and preventing him from being re-elected. The issue is being discussed up to the introduction of sanctions against Russia.”⁵⁴

RBN 14

Aleksei Pushkov, Senator, Chairman of the Federation Council Commission on Information Policy: “Pushkov said that Lukashenko’s ‘flirtation’ with the US led to the threat of EU sanctions. In his opinion, then, Lukashenko was worried not about the end of the conflict, but about ‘flirting’ with the West. The senator concluded that ‘the West needs Belarus, but without Lukashenko.’”⁵⁵

Russia after the election (RAN)

RAN 1

Vladimir Putin, President of Russia: “This [the arrest of Wagner PMC mercenaries] is an operation of the Ukrainian special services together with the American ones. Now this is reliably known. Some participants in this process or observers, well-informed people, do not even hide this now.”⁵⁶

RAN 2

Vladimir Putin, President of Russia: “We proceed from the assumption that the election took place. I did it right away, we recognized its legitimacy and, as you know, I congratulated Aleksandr Lukashenko on his victory in this election.”⁵⁷

RAN 3

Vladimir Solov′ev, host of the program Evening with Vladimir Solov′ev, on the television channel Russia-1: “What is happening in Belarus now is Ukraine 2014.”⁵⁸

RAN 4

Vladimir Putin, President of Russia: “To be objective, I think that the law enforcement agencies of Belarus are behaving in a quite restrained fashion, no matter what.”⁵⁹

RAN 5

Dmitrii Kiselev, General Director of the Russian international news agency “RT” and Deputy General Director of VGTRK: “The example of the Ukrainian Maidan prevented the Belarusian opposition from attracting people to their side, at the same time pushing Aleksandr Lukashenko to take tough actions against the protesters. In this context, ‘revolutionaries’ are perceived within the country primarily as destroyers. The destruction of Ukraine as an example is more frightening than anything else.”⁶⁰

RAN 6

Vladimir Putin, President of Russia: “We have, of course, obligations to Belarus. And this is how Lukashenko put the question: he would like us to provide him with appropriate assistance, if necessary. I said that Russia would fulfill all its obligations. Aleksandr Grigor′evich asked me to form a certain reserve of law enforcement officers, and I did it. But we agreed that it would not be used until the situation starts to get out of control.”⁶¹

RAN 7

Margarita Simon′ian, editor-in-chief of the “RT” television channel, the international information agency “RT,” and the information agency “Sputnik”: “In general, it’s time for polite people to put things in order, of course, as they can.”⁶²

RAN 8

Vladimir Putin, President of Russia: “Russia remains committed to all the agreements that were concluded with Belarus.[…] Russia remains the largest investor for Belarus.[…] The Russian state loan in the amount of $1.5 billion will go to Belarus.[…] Russia and Belarus should continue to cooperate in the military and defence sphere.”⁶³

RAN 9

Mariia Zakharova, Press Secretary of the Russian Foreign Ministry: “Moscow remains a close partner of Minsk and attempts to split relations between Russia and Belarus are futile.”⁶⁴

RAN 10

Sergei Naryshkin, Director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service: “The Western trail is clearly visible in the events in Belarus. The protests have been well organized from the outset and coordinated from abroad. According to the information available in the SVR [Sluzhba vneshnei razvedki, Foreign Intelligence Service], the US plays a key role in the current events in Belarus.[…] In fact, this is a poorly veiled attempt to organize another ‘colour revolution’ and an anti-constitutional coup.”⁶⁵

RAN 11

Sergei Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation: “Tikhanovskaia […] the other day […] announced that she was calling on the security forces to go over to the side of the law. In her interpretation, this is a direct invitation to the betrayal of the oath and, by and large, betrayal of the Motherland. This is probably a criminal offence.”⁶⁶

RAN 12

Vladimir Solov′ev, host of the program Evening with Vladimir Solov′ev, on the television channel Russia-1: “It is interesting that later they will remember Lukashenko and his time as the golden time of Belarus. Because there is never anything good after such outbursts. And this is the tragedy that evolution leads to improvement, and revolution leads to deterioration. How wildly I dislike Lukashenko, but how yesterday all these [oppositional leaders] have started [talking at] the coordinating council, [and] such Russophobia began, such hatred for Russia began. Well guys, sorry. We are for the Belarusian people; we are not for these people.”⁶⁷

RAN 13

Viacheslav Volodin, Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation: “We have common priorities in defence policy, we jointly defend the borders of the Union State and the airspace. All this is the basis of the Union State, which unites fraternal peoples with a long common history. The Union State of Belarus and Russia meets the interests of the peoples, and further integration will remain our priority.”⁶⁸

RAN 14

Sergei Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia: “Mr. Lavrov warned that the crisis was a ‘continuation’ of the tug-of-war between Russia and the EU over Ukraine in 2014: ‘What is happening in Belarus worries us very much.[…] No one is making a secret of the fact that this is about geopolitics, a fight for the post-Soviet space.’”⁶⁹

Belarus before the election (BBN)

BBN 1

Aliaksandr Lukashenka, President of Belarus: “Russia has always been, is, and will be our closest ally, no matter who is in power in Belarus or in Russia. This is an insurmountable factor; it is deep within our people. In spite of the fact that it has changed fraternal relations with us to partnerships, it is in vain.[…] Russia is afraid of losing Belarus because it has no truly close allies left.”⁷⁰

BBN 2

Aliaksandr Lukashenka, President of Belarus: “‘They don’t know: others will be more pliable, while others will be better than Lukashenko? They have doubts. What [Russia wants] is certain – it is to bend [Belarus], put at least one knee [on Belarus] and make [Belarus] more pliable.’ At the same time, he [Lukashenka] believes that the leadership of Russia is tired of his intransigence.”⁷¹

BBN 3

Ivan Tertel′, Chairman of the State Control Committee: “Behind the activities of Viktor Babariko [Viktar Babaryka], who announced his intention to participate in the presidential election, are the ‘puppeteers’ who fear that their involvement in illegal activities will be revealed. Such persons are, we know, big bosses in Gazprom, and maybe even higher.”⁷²

BBN 4

Aliaksandr Lukashenka, President of Belarus: “President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko, speaking five days before the presidential election with a message to the parliament and the people, said that the ‘mercenaries from Wagner PMC detained at the end of July near Minsk were sent from Russia to Belarus to destabilize the situation.[…] Today I was informed about another detachment deployed to the south of the country.’ […] He turned to unnamed Russian structures and warned that in response he could ‘shake it so that it will be heard to Vladivostok.’”⁷³

BBN 5

Petr Petrovskii, political scientist: “Lukashenko said at a meeting with media representatives that four employees of the Russian GRU [Glavnoe razvedyvatel′noe upravlenie, Main Intelligence Directorate] were detained in Belarus. All of them worked in the team of the blogger Sergei Tsikhanovskii. Answering questions in the comments, Petrovskii confirmed that they worked in the team of Tsikhanovskii. Later he deleted this post, then added a new one: ‘The meeting was closed. Information is not subject to disclosure.’”⁷⁴

BBN 6

Aliaksandr Lukashenka, President of Belarus: “We have created the first independent sovereign state. And we will not give this country to anyone so that they would mock it, destabilize it every day, tear it to pieces and give it to someone.[…] Remember you and everyone who hears me: they will not get the country.”⁷⁵

Belarus after the election (BAN)

BAN 1

Aliaksandr Lukashenka, President of Belarus: “‘I asked the Russians: give us two or three groups of journalists just in case.[…] From the most advanced television. And let our young people see how they work.’ According to him, he even invited one group of Russian journalists to the president’s pool.”⁷⁶

BAN 2

Aliaksandr Lukashenka, President of Belarus: “Lukashenko said he would block European neighbours from shipping goods to Russia over Belarusian territory and divert exports now shipped through ports in EU member Lithuania: ‘Well, let’s see who is afraid of whom. We’ll show them what sanctions are.’”⁷⁷

BAN 3

Aliaksandr Lukashenka, President of Belarus: “We see puppeteers.[…] Today, the joint headquarters [of the opposition] are being run from the Czech Republic. They continue to demand to take people out into the streets and negotiate with the authorities about the voluntary surrender of power. That is, Lukashenko, who is at the head of the vertical of power, at the head of the state should voluntarily transfer power to them with 80% of the votes.[…] In Belarus, the situation is not suitable for negotiating.”⁷⁸

BAN 4

Aliaksandr Lukashenka, President of Belarus: “A stage-by-stage analysis of events in the country reveals the true intentions and tactics not of the external opponents of Belarus, but of the aggressors. To remove all masks at once, let’s call these players by name. At the level of global centres, this is primarily the United States of America, more specifically, its network of funds to support so-called democracy. American satellites were active on the European continent: Poland, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, and, unfortunately, our Ukraine.[…] The tactics of the organizers were based on the classic American textbook of colour revolutions. This is the well-known Gene Sharp.”⁷⁹

BAN 5

Viktar Khrenin, Minister of Defence of Belarus: “In the event of disorder in the sacred places, the protesters will deal with the army.[…] We may enter a civil war; the price of human life is losing value every day.”⁸⁰

BAN 6

Aliaksandr Lukashenka, President of Belarus: “‘We will not revise this election, its results. Because this is not your demand, and not of the workers. And you will also organize a [human] chain from Vilnius to Kiev to demonstrate that it is necessary to create a cordon sanitaire between Russia and the West. Consider it against Russia. Do you want Russia to react more? But I don’t want to.’ Lukashenko said at a meeting with the workers of the Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant (MZKT), who were threatening to go on strike.”⁸¹

BAN 7

Uladzimir Makei, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus: “In the event that EU sanctions are imposed on Belarusian authorities, Minsk will retaliate. This may apply to the political system and the functioning of foreign media accredited in Belarus, and a number of other steps.”⁸²

BAN 8

Statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus: “Attempts by certain Western countries to question the legitimacy of the head of state in no way reflect the views of the overwhelming majority of the international community. Particularly surprising is the behaviour of our Ukrainian neighbours, who are no longer even trying to camouflage their lack of independence in making their foreign policy decisions and for some reason do not stop the flow of statements with their allegedly ‘advanced’ assessments of our internal political situation.”⁸³

BAN 9

Aliaksandr Lukashenka, President of Belarus: “They were preparing this mess.[…] The West decided to pull us up somehow, of course, as we see now, against Russia. Now they want to establish this Baltic-Black Sea corridor, a cordon sanitaire: the three Baltic republics, us, and Ukraine. We are one link here. All this is planned and directed by the United States, and the Europeans are playing along. It is said so – they will do so. A special centre was created near Warsaw. We control, we know what he is doing.[…] At this time, exercises are being conducted abroad. What is this? This is prepared when an invasion is needed.”⁸⁴

BAN 10

Aliaksandr Lukashenka, President of Belarus: “I had a long, substantial conversation today with the Russian president.[…] We agreed that at our very first request, comprehensive help will be given to ensure the security of Belarus. To talk about the military element, we have an agreement with Russia as part of the Union State and the Collective Security Treaty Organization. Such situations fall under that agreement.”⁸⁵

BAN 11

Aliaksandr Lukashenka, President of Belarus: “Lukashenko said he had ordered half the army to enter combat preparedness and had agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin that their troops could unite in the event of a threat from the West: ‘If they (NATO troops) don’t hold still, it’s necessary to use a joint grouping of armed forces, the basis of which is the Belarusian army. The Russians must support us and follow us.’”⁸⁶

BAN 12

Uladzimir Makei, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus: “I would like to express my gratitude to the Russian side for a sustained, competent, clear reaction to the events that have unfolded and are unfolding in Belarus. It is obvious that the balanced and extremely clear position of Russia acts as a counterweight that restrains external forces from open interference in the internal affairs of the Republic of Belarus.”⁸⁷

BAN 13

Andrei Savinykh, Deputy of the House of Representatives, a former spokesman for the Belarusian Foreign Ministry: “Multi-vector policy in the face of geopolitical projects against the background of the process of unification of states into macro-regions and the destruction of global trade and financial systems no longer provides the necessary conditions for the favourable development of Belarus. Current political developments should propose a new structure of foreign policy priorities. Strengthening political, economic, and military relations with the Russian Federation within the Union State remains a ‘top priority’ for Belarus. The main task is to enter the core of the Eurasian macro-region.”⁸⁸

Notes

1. Marples, Belarus: A Denationalized Nation, 85; Hattori, Nashonarizumu kara tōkuhanarete, 5; Ioffe, Understanding Belarus, 10; Bekus, Struggle over Identity, 133; Radzik, Around the Identity, 36; Rudling, The Rise and Fall, 13; Wilson, Belarus: The Last, 121.

2. Podgol, Tsitaty Lukashenko: Kollektsiia Podgola, 18.

3. Manajew and Drakachrust, “Właściwości współczesnej tożsamości białoruskiej,” 41.

4. Marples, “Opinion – Lukashenka’s Future.”

5. Wilson, “Lessons from Belarus.”

6. Veebel, “Russian Propaganda, Disinformation”; Darczewska, The Anatomy of Russian, 5.

7. Paul and Matthews, “The Russian ‘Firehose’,” 1; Lucas and Pomeranzev, Winning the Information War, 4.

8. Vosoughi, Roy, and Aral, “The Spread of True”; Badawy, Lerman, and Ferrara, “Who Falls for Online?”

9. Van Gorp, “The Constructionist Approach,” 62.

10. The outlets in question were TV Belarus′-1, SB Belarus′ segodnia, Sputnik Belarus′, TV Rossiia-1, TV Rossiia-24, and Lenta.ru.

11. The searches were performed once per week, selecting the news stories that were published within the past week. The encoders discarded duplications of identical texts produced by search with different key words, such as “Lukashenko,” “Putin,” “election,” “Russia,” and “Belarus.”

12. Rice, “War of Words”; Manayeva, Aniskevich, and Dinerstein, “Mass Media,” 4.

13. Freedom House, “Freedom in the World.”

14. Manaev, “Media in Post-Soviet Belarus,” 110.

15. Aleksandrov and Bastunets, “Media v Belarusi 2020,” 15.

16. Pres-sluzhba Prezidenta Respubliki Belarus′, “Narada z kiraunikami.”

17. See note 13 above.

18. Ibid.

19. International Research and Exchanges Board, “Vibrant Information Barometer,” 2.

20. Ibid.

21. See note 13 above.

22. International Research and Exchanges Board, “Vibrant Information Barometer,” 11.

23. Szostek, “Russian Influence on News.”

24. Szostek, “The Mass Media,” 13.

25. Aleksandrov and Bastunets, “Media v Belarusi 2020,” 3.

26. Paul and Matthews, “The Russian ‘Firehose’,” 2.

27. Rice et al., “Russian Media Coverage,” 16.

28. Goncharov, “Vyvody o proiskhodiashchem.”

29. Brilev, “Interv′iu Vladimira Putina”; “Eks-glava ofisa Zelenskogo.”

30. Matveev, “Lukashenko ob ulichnykh aktsiiakh.”

31. Levada Center, “Protests in Belarus.”

32. International Research and Exchanges Board, “Vibrant Information Barometer,” 3.

33. Departament spedctv massovoi informatsii i reklamy goroda Moskvy, “Monitoring sostoianiia rynka pechatnykh.”

34. Levada Center, “Istochniki novostiei i doverie.”

35. Gudkov, “Vlast′ i nasilie.”

36. Klapper, The Effects of Mass, 8.

37. Hoffman et al., “The Role of Communication,” 287.

38. Stroud, “Selective Exposure Theories,” 1.

39. “Lukashenko priglasil zhurnalistov.”

40. See note 35 above.

41. “Putin Prepares.”

42. “Zhirinovskii kategoricheski otkazalsia.”

43. Trefilov, “Kiselev vyskazalsia o lishenii.”

44. Khimshiashvili and Anisimova, “Kreml′ vpervye otreagiroval.”

45. “Peskov: Moskva nikogda.”

46. Iuranets, “‘Strannye veshchi proiskhodiat’.”

47. Karpenko, “Lukashenko vsegda igral.”

48. “Pisatel′ Starikov: Lukashenko nuzhen.”

49. See note 28 above.

50. Astapkovich, “Zhirinovskii prizval Lukashenko.”

51. Nikolaeva, “Politolog Bolkunets.”

52. “Venediktov: Rossiia budet rada.”

53. Pitalev, “Pushkov zaiavil o vovlechenii.”

54. Zhuravleva, “Zhirinovskii: ‘Belorussiia sozrela’.”

55. Petrova, “Pushkov zaiavil, chto ‘zaigryvaniia’.”

56. Brilev, “Interv′iu Vladimira Putina.”

57. Druzhinin, “Putin zaiavil, chto Rossiia.”

58. “Solov′ev sravnil mitingi.”

59. See note 56 above.

60. “Kiselev ob″iasnil, pochemu.”

61. See note 56 above.

62. “Glavred Russia Today prizvala.”

63. “Putin: Rossiia i Belorussiia.”

64. “V MID Rossii vyrazili.”

65. Ivanov, “O situatsii v Belorussii.”

66. Pitalev, “Lavrov zaiavil, chto Tikhanovskaia.”

67. Solov′ev, “Evoliutsiia privodit k uluchsheniiu.”

68. Svetov, “Viacheslav Volodin: Integratssiia ostanetsiia.”

69. See note 41 above.

70. “Lukashenko: Rossiia pomeniala bratskie.”

71. Pokumeiko, “Lukashenko ne schitaet.”

72. “Minsk zaiavil o ‘kuklovodakh’.”

73. Mel′nichuk, “Lukashenko obvinil Moskvu.”

74. “Lukashenko soobshchil.”

75. Matveev, “Lukashenko: My sozdali suverennoe.”

76. See note 52 above.

77. “‘My im pokazhem’.”

78. “Sem′ etapov stsenariia.”

79. Ibid.

80. Miasnikova, “Prestupnyi prikaz, ne prestupnyi.”

81. “Lukashenko prigrozil protestuiushchim.”

82. “‘Est′ i radikal′nye mery’.”

83. Ibid.

84. “Lukashenko: Nam gotovili.”

85. “Belarus: Lukashenko Claims Russia.”

86. “Lukashenko dogovorilsia s Putinym.”

87. “Makei: Pozitsiia Rossii pomogaet.”

88. “Deputat Savinykh: Shmatviektarnaia palityka.”

Additional information

Funding

This work is based on the research project “Monitoring the content and measuring the effectiveness of Russian disinformation and propaganda campaigns in selected former Soviet Union States,” award no. N0014-20-1-2618, conducted by the multidisciplinary team at the University of Tennessee under the direction of Catherine Luther.

Notes on contributors

Oleg Manaev

Oleg Manaev is a research associate at the Center for Information and Communication Studies at the University of Tennessee. He has published extensively on issues of mass media, communication and democracy, public opinion, and political process in countries of the former Soviet Union.

Natalie Rice

Natalie Rice is a research associate at the Center for Information and Communication Studies at the University of Tennessee. She has been a researcher in global security at the Institute for Nuclear Security at the University of Tennessee. She has published on the use of digital and social media disinformation, propaganda, and other information warfare techniques used by state actors targeting US and foreign audiences.

Maureen Taylor

Maureen Taylor is a professor of public communication at the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia. Taylor’s research explores how public relations contributes to society. She publishes across public relations, media, and community engagement.