A COMMON HISTORICAL PAST AS A NARRATIVE OF PRO-RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA IN BELARUS

Abstract

The article analyzes the narrative of the common historical past, which pro-Russian propaganda uses in Belarus. The author considers the content of the Belarusian and Russian media and journalistic and popular science articles on a historical subject. Proved that in such publications, the pro-Russian paradigm is consistently imposed through the discrediting of Belarusian history. Based on the analysis, the author identified and formulated the main theses that are being broadcasted in the information space of Belarus, which deny the separateness of Belarusian history from Russian, marginalize national heroes and historical phenomena, and discredit the historical national symbols of Belarus. Noted that the theme of common history is actively used in the context of the Union State of Russia and Belarus building to justify the need and irreversibility of the civilizational choice in favor of Russia. It is stated that the theses about a common history and a common future level the national identity of Belarusians, rejecting the possibility of the existence of their own historical myth in Belarus, thereby questioning the independence of the Belarusian state and existence of Belarusian people that is separate from the Russian. Attention is drawn to the fact that the manipulation of historical facts and denigration of certain personalities and events of Belarusian history is used by pro-Russian propaganda to influence Belarusian society. The author concludes that the promotion of its own historical policy and substantiation of pro-Russian narratives about a common past can be interpreted as a tool of Russia's hybrid influence on Belarus. Pointed out that the preservation of Russian influence in Belarus and the imposition of these theses poses a threat to the formation of the historical consciousness of Belarusian society.