Sovetskaya Belorussiya – Belarus' Segodnya
Sovetskaya Belorussiya - Belarus Segodnya (Russian: Советская Белоруссия- Беларусь Сегодня) is a daily newspaper in Belarus. The circulation of the newspaper in April 2019 was 190 thousand copies.[1] First published on 2 August 1927, from 1994 it is the official newspaper of the Presidential Administration of Belarus. European Union has described Sovetskaya Belorussiya as the "main propaganda newspaper" in Belarus.[2]
| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Owner(s) | Presidential Administration of Belarus |
| Editor | Dzmitry Zhuk |
| Founded | August 2, 1927 |
| Political alignment | Initially Communism, Marxism–Leninism now - advocacy of the regime of Alexander Lukashenka |
| Language | Russian |
| Circulation | more than 400,000 (2017) |
| Website | www.sb.by |
Style
Large photographs of President Alexander Lukashenko regularly appear on the front page, and his speeches are quoted extensively in the inside pages, filling pages with the texts of presidential decrees and the laws passed by parliament.
The editor-in-chief, Pavel Yakubovich, is a personal appointee of Lukashenko. Yakubovich says he will remain in the post "until he gets tired of me". He even admitted that his newspaper can adopt a critical tone when it comes to directors of government corporations, mayors and members of the parliament, but by no means can it criticize the actions of the head of state.
Criticism, accusations of propaganda
As part of the international sanctions against the regime in Belarus following a crackdown of the opposition following the 2010 Belarusian presidential election, several senior editors of Sovetskaya Belorussiya (Pavel Yakubovich, deputy editors-in-chief Aliaksandr Taranda and Siarhei Gardzienka, deputy editors Halina Tarapetskaya and Hanna Shadryna) were banned from Entering the European Union between 2011 and 2016. More editorial staff of Sovetskaya Belorussia was sanctioned by the EU in 2011 than of any other Belarusian media outlet.[3]
According to the EU Council's decision concerning restrictive measures against Belarus following the 2010 election, Sovetskaya Belorussiya's editor-in chief Pavel Yakubovich "is one of the most vocal and influential members of the state propaganda machine in the printed press. He has supported and justified the repression of the democratic opposition and of civil society, which are systematically highlighted in a negative and derogatory way using falsified information. He was particularly active in this regard after the crackdown on peaceful demonstrations on 19 December 2010 and on subsequent protests.".[2] Other editors of Sovetskaya Belorussiya faced similar accusations.[2]
In 2021, Sovetskaya Belorussiya has been accused of publishing death threats against exiled dissidents Natallia Kaliada and Nikolai Khalezin.[4]
See also
- Communications in Belarus
References
- "Вы удивитесь, но тираж "Советской Белоруссии" не 400 тысяч, как указано в газете, а вдвое меньше" (in Russian). Nasha Niva. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
- .Council Decision 2012/642/CFSP of 15 October 2012 concerning restrictive measures against Belarus, EUR-Lex, 2012
- Поўны спіс 208 беларускіх чыноўнікаў, якім забаронены ўезд у ЕС - [Full list of 208 Belarusian officials banned from entering the EU], Nasha Niva, 11.10.2011
- Belarus threatens to kill two UK dissidents - EUObserver, 11 January 2021