IWPR - August 15th, 2003

President Lukashenko's latest attempt to win the hearts and minds of young Belarusians has got off to an absurd start.

By Elena Zabrodskaya in Minsk

Belarusian students are being forced to learn a new subject - "state ideology" - from the beginning of next month, even though nobody knows what the course contains, or who is going to teach it.

The controversial course - which will be mandatory in state and private universities across the former Soviet republic from September 1 - has been greeted with suspicion by pro-western analysts and students alike.

So far, the only information available suggests that the syllabus will involve 20 lectures, 16 workshops and an end of term exam. However, the main textbook won't be printed until December, and sources claim that - at present - it is little more than a collection of research articles by different authors, many of whom offer conflicting opinions on society.

One private college professor, who refused to give her name for fear of reprisals, told IWPR that the proposed syllabus contained a number of "highly obscure statements" and a recommendation to "use the president's speeches as methodological reference".

However, this would appear to be good enough for the president, who held a meeting on August 13 to discuss the state's plans for imposing its ideology on the population. Lukashenko told those present that his own speeches could be used as a source for ideologists, adding that, "the wording [of the Belarusian national ideology] may not be too refined or coherent, but it is good enough to use".

And Professor Sergei Reshetnikov, who has been instrumental in designing the new syllabus, denied there was a problem. "A course in ideology was badly needed, and the issue of making it part of the college curriculum is no longer open to debate - it's going to be mandatory."

This has angered lecturers and students alike. "The prospect of being ideologically indoctrinated for my own money does not agree with me," Nikolai, a student at Belarusian State University, said bitterly.

Minsk college student Tatiana agrees. "If the new course is designed to teach us that the president is the backbone of our national ideology, then we already know the course - the ideology is totalitarianism," she said.

In another development, Lukashenko has recently reshuffled his cabinet, replacing Education Minister Pyotr Brigadin with Alexander Radkov, a former rector of Mogilev State University.

The president justified the replacement by the need to step up ideological training in schools and colleges, stating, "The opposition will never set foot in education."

Analysts believe the education ministry has rushed the new course onto the curriculum because it is worried about the political attitudes displayed in many classrooms. The Yakub Kolas Belarusian Lyceum of Humanities in Minsk was closed down by the authorities last month for "supplying dissidents to colleges across the country".

Lukashenko's desire to impose state ideology on the population has also led to a revival of Soviet-era bodies such as the Institute of Pioneers, which is a politicised version of the Scout movement, while the Komsomol, or young communists' league, has been revived in the shape of the Youth Union of the Republic of Belarus.

However, this has failed to change the political views of young people, who continue to form the core of opposition groups and vote against Lukashenko and his initiatives.

Now Lukashenko, who describes himself as an "Orthodox atheist", proposes a new national ideal centred around Orthodox Christianity - which has the advantage that it also curries favour with Russian-speaking voters.

"The president's ideology is likely to reflect the old saying 'Belarusians are exactly the same as Russians, but better'," speculated political science professor Mikhail Plisko. "It will seek to subjugate the individual to the state rather than promote individuality, which fits in well with the Orthodox canon."

While Belarusian dissidents and opposition activists agree that Belarus currently lacks a recognisable national identity, they denounce the government's attempts to fabricate and impose a way of thinking on the younger generation.

"The Communists also tried to forcefully impose their ideology on the masses, and failed," noted Sergei Kaliakin, the leader of the Belarusian Communist Party, now in opposition. "Not to mention the fact that any attempt to graft the ideology of a small group of people on entire society is unconstitutional. The ideology of Belarus should be all about better living standards."

But the authorities seem to prefer the Soviet method of indoctrination, and are preparing to set a large propaganda machine to work. Every industrial enterprise employing 300 or more, and collective farm employing more than 150 now must have a deputy manager for ideological education.

Lukashenko has instructed his ideologues and loyal aides - who include war and labour veterans and Orthodox priests - to "reach the hearts and minds" of every Belarusian.

However, the president did not specify exactly what such ideologues would be teaching, adding only, "We need to advance daily in the field, at every section of the ideological frontline."

Elena Zabrodskaya is a pseudonym for a journalist in Minsk.