Official media discourse and the self-representation of entrepreneurs in Belarus

Abstract

Within the diverging realm of Eastern Europe, the Republic of Belarus demonstrates one of the most extreme examples of ‘distorted’ transition. In addition to preserving numerous elements of the former political, nepotistic and quota-based state-controlled system, the slow process of restructuring of the inherited communist institutions in Belarus is coupled with the state's attempt at conserving the phenomenon of ‘Soviet’ Belarus. In this context identity positions are more likely to be manifested in terms of the current state ideology, which leads us to consider the possibly anomalous case of business people. The question posed in this article is how officially sanctioned sets of meanings reflected in the official mass media inter-relate with the identity positions adopted by the emerging new societal stratum of entrepreneurs.

Notes

The statistical data gathered in 2003 (and published by UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) in 2005) showed that the HDI index in Belarus was 0.786. This was lower than in 1990 when it was 0.787. According to the same source, in Lithuania it was lower by 0.005; in Latvia by 0.008; and in Estonia by 0.019. The Human Development Index (HDI) is a summary measure of human development which is based on life expectancy, literacy, education and standard of living for countries worldwide. It is calculated by the UN's global development programme. See Kozhuro (2004) and UNDP, Statistics in the Human Development Report, available at: http://hdr.undp.org/hdr2006/statistics/, accessed 8 December 2006.

In this case it might be more appropriate to talk about a modernisation project. However, as globalisation according to Sakwa (2002, p. 440) can be presented as the framework for modernisation, I adhere to the logic of argumentation suggested by Pikulik (2005).

This motto is a slightly altered version of the slogan ‘For the motherland’ (‘Za Rodinu’), which was used in the USSR propaganda campaign during WWII.

The inconsistent pursuit of anti-globalisation and Sovietisation lines in the state media propaganda strategy, and the distortion of the anti-globalisation strategy are evident not only in the combination of hostile anti-cosmopolitanism and xenophobia along with the silencing of ethnic factors, but also in the appropriation of international issues for local purposes. One recent example is the convenient use of the internationally raised concern over the anti-Islamic ‘cartoon publication’ as an excuse for closing the newspaper ‘Zgoda’, which had reprinted the caricatures of the prophet Mohamed (BAJ 2006, p. 3). Similarly, the ‘post-Soviet’ discourse of the classless society (Osmanova 2005) omits the notions of ‘worker’ and farmer (‘krest'yanin’) from its lexicon and symbolically shields itself by silencing the activities of the trade unions.

According to the Ministry of Information of the Republic of Belarus, available at: http://www.mininform.gov.by/, accessed 30 June 2007.

For instance, it included the temporary blockage of the Russian TV broadcasts without prior announcement of the changes, sanctions against Russian TV Channel OPT [Obshchestvennoe Rossiiskoe Televidenie (Pubic Russian Television), as it was called at that time] in relation to several journalists and against journalists, including Pavel Sheremet and Dmitrjy Zavadsky. Sheremet was detained during a street rally in Minsk, and Zavadsky, a cameraman for OPT, disappeared on 7 July 2000, when he drove to Minsk airport (BAJ 2006).

The Media Sustainability Index (MSI) is annually compiled by the International Research & Exchange Board (IREX) in cooperation with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). It assesses the development of independent media systems over time and across countries using the following five parameters: (1) legal and social norms, protection of free speech and access to public information; (2) professional standards of quality of journalism; (3) whether multiple news sources provide citizens with reliable and objective news; (4) management of independent media and its editorial independence; and (5) support of the professional interests of independent media.

In most cases it is a mandatory subscription for state institutions, which recently has been extended to private businesses (CJES 2004).

The newspaper uses the notion of ‘businessmen’ without clarification of gender. Although it is not specified explicitly, usually the term is applied both to men and women in business.

A spekulyant is a person who makes an easy and semi-legal profit by using price fluctuations to acquire unspoken benefits at the expense of ‘simple’, working-class people.

The interviews with entrepreneurs are part of a larger project carried out in Belarus and Estonia during 2005 – 2006 by the author, which explored the interrelationship between the cultural change in transitional post-Soviet societies and the ethical attitudes of entrepreneurs.

Most of them possessed one and sometimes several degrees in higher education and other types of training. Additionally, some had undergone internships and other practice abroad.

The collective farms of the Soviet era, associated by our entrepreneurs with pre-modern attitudes and economic inefficiency.

Interview with Aleksei (sales: technical appliances), 16 May 2005, Grodno, Belarus.

Interview with Pavel (marketing firm), 29 April 2005, Minsk, Belarus.

This phenomenon was also identified in earlier research by Kuvshinov (2003).

Interview with Daniil (consulting: HR recruitment firm), 14 April 2005, Minsk, Belarus.

Interview with Andrei (IT: service provider), 20 April 2005, Minsk, Belarus.

Interview with Vladislav (IT: software development firm), 7 April 2005, Minsk, Belarus.

Interview with Artem (logistics: goods deliveries), 5 April 2005, Minsk, Belarus.

Interview with Tatyana (sales: food), 27 April 2005, Minsk, Belarus.

Interview with Pavel (marketing firm), 29 April 2005, Minsk, Belarus.

Interview with Artem (logistics: goods deliveries), 5 April 2005, Minsk, Belarus.

Interview with Vladimir (manufacturing: furniture production), 14 May 2005, Grodno, Belarus.