DISINFO: The West needs Belarus as a springboard to attack Russia
SUMMARY
External forces will try to synchronise the protests in Belarus and the Russian Federation in order to disrupt integration projects. The protests in Russia and Belarus are interconnected. The coordinators of protests in the republic, located in the West, need Belarus as a springboard for an attack on the Russian Federation.
RESPONSE
This article promotes recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about the West's attempt to organise a colour revolution in Belarus and Russia and to disrupt Belarus-Russia relations.
There is no evidence of any Western governments being involved in any way in the protests in Belarus. Large-scale protests began in Minsk on August 9 against the results of the presidential election, and then in other cities. People revolted against election fraud and police violence towards thousands of rally participants. According to statistical data and independent observers, the official result of the presidential election was itself heavily doctored. A joint monitoring effort by three NGOs demonstrates the scale of falsification based on election protocols from 1,310 polling stations across Belarus and concludes that the announced result (80% of votes cast for Lukashenka) is mathematically "impossible" (p. 7).
The protests in Belarus have continued for more than 6 months and were triggered by mass popular dissatisfaction with the political, social and economic implications of the Lukashanko regime.
See earlier similar disinformation cases alleging that Poland and Lithuania are destabilising Belarus to turn it into a Russophobic limitrophe, that the West destabilises Belarus to destroy Russian civilisation, that American 'Deep State' will continue a hybrid war against Russia through Joe Biden, that Belarus is a military range for the upcoming US’s interference into Russian affairs, that the West is behind the protests in Belarus, and that the US wants to convert Belarus into a zone of instability and make it an anti-Russian puppet.