{"id":11562,"date":"2023-05-01T09:37:38","date_gmt":"2023-05-01T06:37:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/longreads\/lukasenka-tones-down-militaristic-rhetoric-claims-to-be-peace-guarantor\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","slug":"lukasenka-tones-down-militaristic-rhetoric-claims-to-be-peace-guarantor","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11562\/","title":{"rendered":"\u0141uka\u0161enka tones down militaristic rhetoric, claims to be peace guarantor"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n By Valeryj Karbalevi\u010d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka has toned down his militaristic rhetoric in the last couple of weeks, probably realizing that it does not resonate with the public.<\/span><\/b>\n<\/p>\n

Change of heart<\/h2>\n

\n\t The Belarusian leader must have realized that his militaristic rhetoric makes people anxious and meets with a mixed public response, especially his idea of bringing Russian nuclear weapons to Belarus, simply because most Belarusians want peace. He toned it down considerably during his last week\u2019s tours of the Hrodna and Homiel regions.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t \u201cPeople have finally prioritized a normal, quiet and peaceful life and life of their children,\u201d he said on April 28 in Vietka, Homiel region. \u201cI see this priority today in the Homiel region and across the republic . . . People have started to value life. Just give us peace!\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\t In contrast to his earlier remarks, he reassured local residents that nobody planned to attack Belarus. \u201cYes, Homiel and Brest have become frontline regions,\u201d he went on to say. \u201cBut that does not mean that someone is going to go to war with us, including the Ukrainians and the Westerners.”\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Since August 2020 and until recently, he repeatedly accused the West and Ukraine of planning an assault on Belarus. He also claimed that Poland was planning to capture western Belarus.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t More recently, he has cast himself as the guarantor of peace: “I don’t want to go to war . . . You should not think that I want to unleash some kind of war here . . . You should not worry. I don\u2019t want war more than you. I also have children. And you all are my children. I don\u2019t want to have to send you somewhere to a frontline . . . That is why calm down and work quietly . . . Peace will be with you, don\u2019t worry.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Peace in exchange for obedience<\/h2>\n

\n\t After two years of extremely bellicose rhetoric, \u0141uka\u0161enka seeks to recast himself as a peace maker. He understands that Belarusians value peace as bloodshed continues in the war between neighbors Russia and Ukraine.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t But he made it crystal clear that he was offering peace in exchange for obedience and hard labor.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t \u201cYou\u2019d better fight out in the field than there . . . We must work out a system: if we don\u2019t want to fight as they fight in the south . . . I\u2019d better demand from you now than give you a rifle and send you to the front.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Another condition for peace, he indicated, is that Belarusians must rally round him.\n<\/p>\n

Youths are different<\/h2>\n

\n\t \u0141uka\u0161enka does not hide his frustration with youths. \u201cSitting there, stuck in their phones \u2013 tomorrow everything will come out of nowhere. We have spoiled them badly. Ah, we have good, good youths. But they don\u2019t want and can\u2019t work. They will not do it. They will not keep this country from falling.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\t He realizes that youths are different from the type of voters he has dealt with for 30 years. He understands that the propaganda he has injected into the education system does not work.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Youths have a different communication system \u2013 \u201csitting there, stuck in their phones\u201d \u2013 and a different mindset. They are not interested in low-paid jobs \u2013 \u201cdon\u2019t want and can\u2019t work.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Simply put, they do not fit in with the system based on premise that everyone must work and be happy to accept small consideration for their labor.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Most importantly, he does not trust young people to take the country into their own hands. He thinks that he must stay in power as long as possible to keep it from falling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Valeryj Karbalevi\u010d Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka has toned down his militaristic rhetoric in the last couple of weeks, probably realizing that it does not resonate with the public. Change of heart The Belarusian leader must have realized that his militaristic rhetoric makes people anxious and meets with a mixed public response, especially his idea of bringing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[22],"class_list":["post-11562","longreads","type-longreads","status-publish","hentry","rubric-theviewer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\u0141uka\u0161enka tones down militaristic rhetoric, claims to be peace guarantor | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Valeryj Karbalevi\u010d Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka has toned down his militaristic rhetoric in the last couple of weeks, probably realizing that it does not\" \/>\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\/11562\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" 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