Foreign friends often ask me about the claims of Russia to form in Belarus its “fifth column” and efforts of execute soft power strategies as a part of gaining total influence over Belarus.
It is difficult to outline a situation for those who do not know the context and all the details of the political life in Belarus for the last years. Nevertheless, I have found the excellent document, which sheds light on recent changes of governmental policy of Belarus regarding Russia and Russian culture, changes of Russian media and expert discourse towards Belarus, covers the activities of pro-Russian organizations in Belarus and analyzes many related features.
If you want to grasp, what are the threats for Belarusian independence, how Russia acts here and how Belarusian government reacts – you should read that.
Thanks Tatsiana Chulitskaya for sharing!
https://www.osw.waw.pl/sites/default/files/prace_58_ang_end_of_myth_net.pdf
