Younger Belarusians Far More Apolitical than Their Elders, New Poll Finds

Paul Goble

            Staunton, December 10 – A poll conducted by the Levada Center for the Nemtsov Foundation and with the support of the German foreign ministry finds that “fewer than 10 percent of young Belarusians want political changes in their country” or are prepared to take action to achieve them.

            That finding was the subject of an intense discussion in Minsk last week among youth activists and experts on “How the Youth of Belarus Imagines Its Future,” a discussion that has now been reported by Deutsche Welle (dw.com/ru/в-чем-причина-аполитичности-белорусской-молодежи/a-46592305).

                Daniil Lavretsky, a leader of the Union of Belarusian Students, says that “politics for Belarusians is something abstract.” People are upset about immediate problems but do not think those are political. Their view of politics is restricted to high politics and the question of who will be the national leader, something few think they have much say over. 

            Alina Nagornaya, a political technologist, agrees. But she adds that many stand aside from politics lest getting involved cost them the chance to remain in universities. And Anna Cherednichenko, head of the Boris Nemtsov For Freedom Foundation, says that the poll results, reflect “tiredness, disappointment, and a lack of faith in change.”

            One division several speakers referred to is between those who are now 20 and those who are 35. The latter remember the political struggles of the 1990s; the former do not. Consequently, the former are far less inclined to have experience with or believe in the efficacy of political activity.

            At the same time, however, many of the younger group believe that change is inevitable even though they do not see their own activities as being important in bringing it about. Many of the youngest are apolitical but want the freedoms they see when they visit Europe, something they do far more often than do their counterparts in Ukraine or Russia.

            For Belarusian youth, Chrednichenko says, “it is possible to spend weekends in Lithuania.” Many of them want change, he and others say; and most argue that ten percent is not such a small number after all. Moreover, if the question were framed differently and more broadly, the number would be much higher.

            Maksim Goryunov, a Russian philosopher who took part in the session, pointed to two reasons for why Belarusian young people today are apolitical: the success of the Belarusian siloviki who have frightened the young into silence, and the lack of national heroes of resistance among Belarusians to inspire them.

                Fear is certainly a factor; but thanks to the work of various portals, ever more Belarusians of all ages are now learning about the heroes of their national resistance movements in the past. Such knowledge may in fact play a powerful role in changing the attitudes of Belarusian young people and thus their willingness to take part in politics of all kinds.