{"id":11296,"date":"2021-12-08T02:33:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-07T23:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/longreads\/lukasenka-uses-government-sponsored-surveys-to-bolster-his-claim-to-legitimacy\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","slug":"lukasenka-uses-government-sponsored-surveys-to-bolster-his-claim-to-legitimacy","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11296\/","title":{"rendered":"Luka\u0161enka uses government-sponsored surveys to bolster his claim to legitimacy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n <b><span>By Aliaksandr Klasko\u016dski, BPN<\/span><\/b>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n <b>Aliaksandr Luka\u0161enka cited a new government-sponsored \u201clarge-scale survey\u201d on December 6 to bolster his claim to legitimacy, said Hiennadz Kor\u0161una\u016d, a Belarusian sociologist.&nbsp;<\/b>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The Belarusian leader said at a televised government meeting that his opponents have never made up more than 10 percent of Belarusians.&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Independent polls show that only one in three Belarusians have trust in Luka\u0161enka, while 50 percent to 55 percent distrust him, Kor\u0161una\u016d said.&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<h2> <span>Pro-government polling organizations<\/span> <\/h2>\n<p>\n\t In that statement, Luka\u0161enka appeared to refer to a poll conducted by the Sociology Institute of the Belarusian National Academy of Sciences. The Sociology Institute had planned to conduct a survey among around 10,000 Belarusians, its director, Mikalaj Mysliviec, said last month.&nbsp;&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t According to unconfirmed reports, the Sociology Institute teamed up with Ecoom, a pro-government think tank, to do the survey.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Ecoom and Ukraine\u2019s Ukrainskaya Politika Foundation had conducted a similar poll in early 2021. Commenting on that survey, Ecoom Director Siarhiej Musijenka said that were more trusting in Luka\u0161enka (55 percent) than in the opposition (17.2 percent).&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The Belarusian leader cited that poll to add credibility to his government\u2019s claim that he had won the August 2020 presidential election with 80.1 percent of the vote.&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The official announcement of the election results triggered mass protests across the country. Various types of protest activity continued until spring 2021.&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<h2> <span>What\u2019s the point of interviewing 10,000?<\/span> <\/h2>\n<p>\n\t The new poll is intended to create an illusion of legitimacy and broad public support for the government\u2019s policy, said Kor\u0161una\u016d, a former director of the Sociology Institute who resigned in protest against the Luka\u0161enka government\u2019s policy. Authorities tout big surveys to demonstrate their openness and willingness to receive feedback from the public, he told BPN.&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Kor\u0161una\u016d noted that it would be enough to interview up to 1,500 respondents for a representative national sample.&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The high number of respondents allegedly surveyed by government-sponsored organizations is a way to impress the public and add credibility to survey numbers, he said and added that the numbers are unrealistic and are used for propaganda purposes.\n<\/p>\n<h2> <span>Independent poll shows Babaryka with a lead over Luka\u0161enka<\/span> <\/h2>\n<p>\n\t A survey conducted by Chatham House among Belarusian city and town residents in July and early August found that 33 percent of Belarusians considered imprisoned former presidential candidate Viktar Babaryka as a suitable candidate for president and 22 percent find him the most suitable candidate. Fewer city and town residents (28 percent) saw Luka\u0161enka as a person suitable for the job, however, 27 percent of those said he was the most suitable.&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t City and town residents account for 78 percent of Belarus\u2019 population.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The survey found that confidence in state institutions remains low. One in three Belarusians had trust in the army, while confidence in other state institutions was much lower, according to the survey. More Belarusians have trust in the free media, independent trade unions and human rights organizations, Chatham House said.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t A poll conducted by Zentrum f\u00fcr Osteuropa- und internationale Studien (ZOiS) in June 2021, registered a slight decrease in the proportion of harsh critics of the regime in the country to 38.3 percent from 42.2 percent in December 2020.&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The percentage of staunch Luka\u0161enka supporters fell to 13.9 from 14.5 in the same period.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Independent polls suggest that public discontent with the government and public support for the opposition\u2019s demands have remained almost the same as in the first few months following the presidential election, Kor\u0161una\u016d said.&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t More people find it difficult to answer or refuse to answer questions for fear of repercussions, he added.\n<\/p>\n<h2> <span>Luka\u0161enka\u2019s claims support for him is rising<\/span> <\/h2>\n<p>\n\t The Belarusian leader said in an interview with BBC a week ago that public support for his policies had risen to 87 percent or even 90 percent.&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t That statement was not only intended to mislead the public. It also indicated a reference point for officials. Luka\u0161enka wants authorities to make sure that the official result of a constitutional referendum scheduled for late February is consistent with the declared numbers.&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The government-funded polling organizations appear to use the same reference point.&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t However, most Belarusians do not find polls released by government organizations credible because they distrust the Luka\u0161enka government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Aliaksandr Klasko\u016dski, BPN Aliaksandr Luka\u0161enka cited a new government-sponsored \u201clarge-scale survey\u201d on December 6 to bolster his claim to legitimacy, said Hiennadz Kor\u0161una\u016d, a Belarusian sociologist.&nbsp; The Belarusian leader said at a televised government meeting that his opponents have never made up more than 10 percent of Belarusians.&nbsp; Independent polls show that only one [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[24],"class_list":["post-11296","longreads","type-longreads","status-publish","hentry","rubric-theviewer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Luka\u0161enka uses government-sponsored surveys to bolster his claim to legitimacy | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Aliaksandr Klasko\u016dski, BPN Aliaksandr Luka\u0161enka cited a new government-sponsored \u201clarge-scale survey\u201d on December 6 to bolster his claim to legitimacy,\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11296\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Luka\u0161enka uses government-sponsored surveys to bolster his claim to legitimacy | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Aliaksandr Klasko\u016dski, BPN Aliaksandr Luka\u0161enka cited a new government-sponsored \u201clarge-scale survey\u201d on December 6 to bolster his claim to legitimacy,\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11296\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-24T20:29:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Pozirk_online\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11296\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11296\/\"},\"headline\":\"Luka\u0161enka uses government-sponsored surveys to bolster his claim to legitimacy\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-12-07T23:33:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-24T20:29:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11296\/\"},\"wordCount\":719,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11296\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11296\/\",\"name\":\"Luka\u0161enka uses government-sponsored surveys to bolster his claim to legitimacy | Pozirk\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-12-07T23:33:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-24T20:29:13+00:00\",\"description\":\"By Aliaksandr Klasko\u016dski, BPN Aliaksandr Luka\u0161enka cited a new government-sponsored \u201clarge-scale survey\u201d on December 6 to bolster his claim to legitimacy,\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11296\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11296\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11296\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Luka\u0161enka uses government-sponsored surveys to bolster his claim to legitimacy\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Pozirk\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Pozirk\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Pozirk\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/Pozirk_online\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Luka\u0161enka uses government-sponsored surveys to bolster his claim to legitimacy | Pozirk","description":"By Aliaksandr Klasko\u016dski, BPN Aliaksandr Luka\u0161enka cited a new government-sponsored \u201clarge-scale survey\u201d on December 6 to bolster his claim to legitimacy,","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11296\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Luka\u0161enka uses government-sponsored surveys to bolster his claim to legitimacy | Pozirk","og_description":"By Aliaksandr Klasko\u016dski, BPN Aliaksandr Luka\u0161enka cited a new government-sponsored \u201clarge-scale survey\u201d on December 6 to bolster his claim to legitimacy,","og_url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11296\/","og_site_name":"Pozirk","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/","article_modified_time":"2026-02-24T20:29:13+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@Pozirk_online","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11296\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11296\/"},"headline":"Luka\u0161enka uses government-sponsored surveys to bolster his claim to legitimacy","datePublished":"2021-12-07T23:33:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-24T20:29:13+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11296\/"},"wordCount":719,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization"},"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11296\/","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11296\/","name":"Luka\u0161enka uses government-sponsored surveys to bolster his claim to legitimacy | Pozirk","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-12-07T23:33:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-24T20:29:13+00:00","description":"By Aliaksandr Klasko\u016dski, BPN Aliaksandr Luka\u0161enka cited a new government-sponsored \u201clarge-scale survey\u201d on December 6 to bolster his claim to legitimacy,","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11296\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11296\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11296\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Luka\u0161enka uses government-sponsored surveys to bolster his claim to legitimacy"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/","name":"Pozirk","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization","name":"Pozirk","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"Pozirk"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/","https:\/\/x.com\/Pozirk_online"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/longreads\/11296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/longreads"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/longreads"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"rubric","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rubric?post=11296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}