Since the outbreak of protests in Belarus, Russian propaganda and official Belarusian media outlets have launched a witch-hunt for an external enemy. The aim is to show that the unrest is really coming from an external act of aggression against Belarus and an assault on the country’s independence. Poland has yet again become a prime target of that campaign.
The protests against the regime of Alexander Lukashenko, which broke out in Belarus weeks ago, continue apace. Belarusians stepped forward to protest and oppose voter fraud. Today, Belarusians are increasingly demanding political changes and the resignation of the current president.
Surprised by the mass nature of the protests and the vitality of social resistance, the Kremlin-backed regime in Minsk responded by smearing the opposition on the one hand, and by alleging a foreign footprint in the ongoing unrest on the other. Moscow and Minsk refer to NATO as the enemy and portray Poland as the major actor of the “anti-Belarusian activities.” All this to show that the opposition is carrying out a plan meticulously devised by aggressive and hostile Western states and to justify the brutality of the riot police and other law enforcement services.
The Kremlin, and Vladimir Putin in particular, is well known for feeding the public opinion with fear of Western interference. Not long ago, there was another anniversary of “terrorist” attacks in Russia which, as revealed by the famous critic of the Putin regime Alexander Litvinenko, had been carried out by the FSB. These attacks on Russians in 1999 made it possible for the Kremlin to intimidate the public and portray Chechnya as a threat, providing an excuse to start a war, paving the way for Putin to the top of power. Fear of external enemies allows an increasingly authoritarian Moscow to consolidate power.
Kremlin-friendly “journalists” suggest that, as a result of Poland’s actions, Belarus will follow Ukraine’s footsteps and plunge into a dangerous chaos, and that Poland will take advantage of the crisis and by annexing Western territories of Belarus. In a “softer” version of this narrative, Poland is accused of eagerly making its territory available to NATO, which is preparing an invasion of Belarus. This propaganda campaign against Poland is permanent, systematic, and intense.
As for the Belarusian officials, not only do they throw equally absurd accusations at Poland, but they also make political decisions designed to underpin the propaganda message. The president of the Republic of Belarus makes repeated attempts to imply that Poland poses a threat to Belarus, and even goes as far as saying that the crippling annexation of the Western part of the country has already begun. At one point, he even mobilized troops in the west of Belarus as if to repel an invasion. The Belarusian Ministry of Defense has posted messages accusing Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia of preparing an attack on Belarus. Russian politicians speak in a similar vein.
The Kremlin’s propaganda machine becomes more active against NATO at critical moments. The current situation is no different. Since the start of the protests in Belarus, Moscow and Minsk have stepped up their information warfare efforts against countries that actively support Belarusian civil society.
Poland is an active party in this respect, so the Kremlin is trying to smear and slander Warsaw in the international arena. Pushing propaganda by Russia and Belarus is nothing else but an attempt to eliminate Poland from the game of influence in Central and Eastern Europe.
Stanisław Żaryn is director of the National Security Department at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Poland and spokesman for Poland’s Minister-Special Services Coordinator.
