Efficiency tending to zero

The results of a closed sociological study conducted by the Americans to assess the effectiveness of self-exiled opposition were presented on the Belarus 1 channel

The journalists of the Television News Agency have at their disposal the results of the analysis, which prove that even those who created it no longer have faith in the Belarusian opposition. The International Republican Institute of the United States, in close contact with the State Department and the US Agency for International Development and some funds that finance pro-American forces in the world, commissioned a study from the Gallup Institute. This structure is world famous and authoritative. The residents of Belarus are the focus-group of the survey. In September, they called 1,500 of our citizens and came up with unexpected results.

Photo by Aleksey Stolyarov

It turned out that the ‘leaders’ of the fifth column do not enjoy the support of the population. How else to explain the fact that in answering the question ‘Which of the opposition representatives do you trust the most?’, even the most famous media personalities did not score even 1 percent. At the same time, half of the respondents ‘Do not trust any representative of the opposition’. The vast majority answered ‘No’ to the question ‘Do you know about the New Belarus conference held in Vilnius in August this year?’. Also, the majority did not hear about the creation of some ‘offices’.

Another American researchers from the Gallup Institute found that more than 70 percent of respondents support the current direction of development of Belarus and are inclined to entrust the current government with further management of the country. According to the data, the value of this indicator has been steadily increasing since October last year.

At the same time, the number of respondents who do not approve of the state line was less than 15 percent. More than 70 percent of respondents answered ‘The current leadership’ to the question ‘Who would you entrust the further management of the country?’
Most of the respondents could not decide on an answer in response to the question ‘Which international leader do you trust the most?’. In the answers of the rest of the respondents, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping are leading (30 and 10 percent, respectively). But it’s just that Zelenskyy, Scholz, Duda and Macron have some kind of anti-rating: they each have one percent or less. Commenting on the results of the study, experts agree: this is a documented indicator of the fiasco of the self-exiled opposition.

Sergei MUSIYENKO, Director of the EcooM think tank,
“First, by conducting such a study, Gallup violated our laws by conducting it without proper accreditation. Second, it shows that they are showing interest in us, and this is even gratifying, on the one hand. Apparently, Americans want to know how their money is spent. In a word, the customer is worried.
I do not see anything extraordinary in the announced figures...The opponents of the authorities are such an insignificant phenomenon that we often simply overestimate them as individuals. They don’t represent anything at all. Which, however, is quite natural: how else can people relate to traitors to the Motherland?
And if the assessment of the role of the current Head of State, including in this survey, crystallises from his attitude to the strengthening and development of Belarus, as well as to sanctions measures against us, then the opposition continues to spoil their country, and therefore the attitude towards them is appropriate. To call for the bombing of the cities of the country in which you were born (even if you no longer live) is blasphemy. After that, the self-exiled opposition have no political future. This, in fact, is evidenced by the presented eloquent figures — so obvious that they do not even require special comments.”

Piotr PETROVSKY, political scientist, 
“Such studies reflect the objective side of the mood of the Belarusian society. It should be understood that there are various sociological studies — and this study is fully correlated with other similar works, demonstrating the dynamics that have been emerging since the end of 2020 in the mood of the Belarusian society. This institution conducts its sociological research quite often. I would even say — constantly, although this, according to our legislation, is an illegal activity. 
Why is this study done now? The next financial year is coming to an end, including for the self-exiled opposition, and they will have to report on the work done, on their effectiveness. At this time they always order such studies. In my opinion, the results of this study will affect their further funding, since the data presented shows that the radical opposition is in a mythical ghetto. Nonetheless, we must understand: this does not mean that the financing of destructive forces by the West will disappear at once. The West will try to look for new tools and structures, or create these structures, in order to continue its extremist and destructive activities against Belarus.”

By Svetlana Isaenok, Maksim Osipov