Belsat Television, founded in 2007 as an independent media platform aimed at the Belarusian public, has been criticized in Moscow. According to the prosecutor’s office, Belsat is discrediting Russia’s domestic and foreign policy and trying to undermine the integration of Russia and Belarus into the Union State.
Russia accuses Belsat
The Russian authorities emphasize that the main directions of activity Belsat supposedly provides access to impartial and independent information and promotes democratic values. However, in the Kremlin’s opinion, the station in fact spreads disinformation and cooperates with organizations considered “foreign agents” and “undesirable organizations”.
The prosecutor’s statement also noted that Belsat Allegedly, he published false information about the aggression against Ukraine, as well as about the illegal annexation of Crimea and the incorporation of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, Zaporizhia and Kherson Oblasts into Russia. It is clear that the term false means inconsistent with the line of false propaganda. Kremlin.
Moscow and Minsk are fighting Belsat
This is not the first type of work valorization Belsat of authoritarian authorities. In July 2021, a Belarusian court recognized the materials published by the station as “extremist”, and in November of the same year, the Ministry of Internal Affairs Belarus announced that the entire television station was considered an “extremist formation.”
What may seem like a joke to Poles, however, does not mean an easy legal situation for Belarus residents who watch the channel. They may be held criminally liable for subscribing to or sharing materials from Belsat. In turn, in January 2024, Belsat’s Russian-language editorial office, Vot Tak, was recognized as a “foreign agent” by the Moscow authorities, which also has legal repercussions for, for example, sharing a post.
The largest independent Russian-language station
TV Belsat was created in 2007 on the initiative of Telewizja Polska and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to fill the gap in access to independent information in Belarus, where the media have been under strict regime control for years Alexander Lukashenko. Belsat’s mission is to provide independent and reliable news to Belarusians, with an emphasis on promoting democratic values such as freedom of expression, human rights and the development of civil society. The station’s programs are broadcast primarily in Belarusian and Russian, which allows it to reach a wide audience both in Belarus and in the Belarusian diaspora.
Belsat quickly gained popularity thanks to its independent journalism, especially in the context of political events and protests in Belaruswhich intensified after the 2020 presidential election. The broadcaster became one of the few reliable sources of information about the repression suffered by citizens protesting against fraudulent elections. Journalists Belsat were detained many times and their equipment confiscated by the Belarusian services.
