Returning to Good Old Ideology

Jan Maksymiuk

A Journal for Western Man-- Issue XXVIII-- December 15, 2004

President Lukashenko of Belarus chaired a seminar on ideological work in Minsk on 27 March and told central and local executive officials in attendance that the state needs to be placed on a solid ideological foundation, Belarusian Television and Belapan reported. "Ideology for a state is what the immune system is for a living organism," the Belarusian leader explained, adding that, "if the immune system grows weaker, any infection, even the slightest one, turns deadly."

In order to prevent the state from contracting such immune-system deficiencies, Lukashenko said, Belarus needs to reestablish the "ideological vertical" at all levels of government. "An especially thorough approach should be taken toward the formation of an ideological nucleus in workers' collectives," he advised.

He suggested that positions of deputy directors for ideological work should be introduced at all industrial enterprises with 300 or more workers and at all agricultural enterprises with 150 or more workers. He did not forget about smaller companies, postulating that ideological work there should be tackled by deputy directors for social and personnel matters. "We are not going to introduce a new institution of political commissars and political instructors, although it needs doing. I tell you straight, it needs doing," the Belarusian president confessed, referring to a practice characteristic of the Soviet-era socioeconomic life.

Lukashenko said the Academy of Management operating under the presidential administration will start training ideological workers this upcoming academic year. "Everything should be adjusted and [should] function like a clock. It is not necessary to write a report; I will judge how work is progressing from the situation in our information space," he added. Lukashenko said he has already made the necessary appointments to put the entire ideological machinery into operation.

Lukashenko disagreed with the opinion that ideology was an invention of the Soviet-era Communist Party. "In Western states, the very system of ideological work is concealed from the general public's eye," he stated. "However, it is as comprehensive and aggressive in Western states as Soviet standards, or even more so."

At the same time, the Belarusian leader expressed nostalgia for what he called "the well-adjusted system of ideological work" in the Soviet Union. "It was a fairly good system in the Soviet era. We should not have abandoned it," he stressed. According to Lukashenko, the fact that the "socialist experiment" has failed does not imply that communist ideals are gone. "They will live on as long as life endures, because at their core, there is the pursuit of equality and social justice," he asserted. The Belarusian president believes that many elements of communist ideology should be readopted to suit the purposes of present-day Belarus.

Lukashenko singled out the ideology of liberalism as "prevalent and exceptionally aggressive" in the modern world. "Unfortunately, its scale is so large that it is time to talk about 'liberal terror,' since nations that reject or doubt this path are immediately blacklisted as 'foes' with all the ensuing consequences," he said. In this context, the Belarusian leader mentioned the U.S. military action against Iraq.

According to Lukashenko, the Iraqis' staunch resistance (sic) to the coalition troops is primarily motivated by ideology. "Just look what one or two tenets of [Iraq's] state ideology have brought about: We [the Iraqis] are defending our land; we will not surrender to the invaders; we will protect our Saddam. That's it."

According to the Belarusian leader, Belarus has now remained the only post-Soviet country that "is openly advocating the loyalty to our traditional civilizational values." As is his tradition, Lukashenko spoke for several hours and articulated an extensive list of guidelines and precepts, both theoretical and practical, with regard to what should be done in Belarus in order to pave the way for implementing his vision of state ideology.

On the practical side, Lukashenko advised rectors of both state-run and private universities to get rid of professors and lecturers who oppose government policies or are "wavering" in their opinions regarding the government's course. "If you do not accept the ideas declared by the government and the president, do not apply to a state university for a job," Lukashenko said explicitly. He pledged to "drastically" modify "ideological work" at educational institutions in Belarus this year. "Before the end of the year, the state of ideological work in colleges, both state and private, should be changed drastically, or else we are going to lose our youth. I could say the same about vocational schools and general-education schools, especially those in Minsk."

Turning to the state-run media, Lukashenko emphasized the significant role of radio and television and the need to use them efficiently." Our domestic television product should be of prime quality. It is not just competition, not just rivalry. It is a struggle of ideologies," Lukashenko said.

Jan Maksymiuk is a writer for the Belarusian Review. This article was originally featured in the Belarusian Review Vol. 15 (No. 2), but is no longer accessible on the website of said organization. It has accordingly been salvaged and again made available to the public by The Rational Argumentator.

This TRA feature has been edited in accordance with TRA's Statement of Policy.

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