MINSK, 18 December (BelTA) – The majority of Belarusians follow the social and political agenda, Head of the Department of Economic Sociology and Psychology of Entrepreneurship, Head of the Center for Social and Humanitarian Studies of the Belarus State Economic University Irina Lashuk
told BelTA.
Thus, according to the poll, 66.8% of respondents said that they regularly follow the social and political agenda and try to keep track of events, 23.4% answered that they occasionally follow, while 9.8% said they are not interested in it at all.
"Nowadays, the majority of Belarusians are not apolitical. They try to follow the political agenda and form their own opinion. This shows that Belarusians already have a clear political position," Irina Lashuk said.
Respondents were also asked to name their key values: 67.7% of respondents mentioned peace, 66.4% named security, 65.3% - identity and patriotism.
Irina Lashuk explained that the poll participants were offered options to choose from. Then specialists analyzed the information based on their answers.
"For Belarusians peace is not just the absence of war. This includes peaceful creation, absence of conflicts of various kinds: interpersonal, social, interstate. Security means not only safety but also the security of the state," she noted. "Identity and patriotism is about the preservation of the Belarusian identity and patriotic peaceful coexistence with other nations which are friendly to us. It is patriotism of everyday life: you should do something for your country every day to be a patriot."
Some 56.5% of Belarusians pin their hopes for the future on decisions of state authorities, 55.8% rely on themselves, 48.7% respondents rely on relatives and friends, 28.3% - on an enterprise, organization, 6.2% - on foreign countries and international organizations.
“The reference environment (family, friends) has always ranked first. Also, people have become more trusting of the authorities. People quite often turn to officials for help and none of those who apply for help are left alone with their problems. The second positive trend is that people rely on themselves, i.e. they realize that they need to take certain steps themselves: to realize themselves in their profession, to provide for their families, to solve the housing problems. Such determination can undoubtedly improve the quality of life. Today the responsibility of our people is high, they want an informed predictable future and rely on themselves, government agencies, not on foreign countries and international organizations,” Irina Lashuk added.
The survey was conducted by the Center for Social and Humanitarian Research at Belarusian State Economic University in November 2024. The survey polled 1,500 people in different regions of the country.