European scenarios for Belarus

Without addressing the problems that are at arm's length, it is very difficult making thoughtful and well-grounded estimations about the bridge between East and West and talking about other global challenges that Belarus faces, believes the...

Without addressing the problems that are at arm's length, it is very difficult making thoughtful and well-grounded estimations about the bridge between East and West and talking about other global challenges that Belarus faces, believes the chairman of the International Consortium "EuroBelarus" Ulad Vialichka. He talked about the European identity of Belarusians, issues of our national identity and the challenges of Belarus’ integration into the global processes during an interview for the Information service of "EuroBelarus".

On messages and hang-ups

- Why is it happens so often, that you personally, and even the current President of the country have to declare and to prove to someone from time to time that Belarus is Europe, and Belarusians is a full-fledged European nation? Why do many have, including subconsciously, doubts on this score?

- Fortunately, banal stereotypes of Belarus from the category of "Russia is a country where drunk bears play harmonicas" essentially decrease. Such problems almost don’t existent any more after a series of very important PR-actions. For example, people in Sweden no longer ask "Belarus? Where is it?”, after the famous victory of our hockey players over the Swedish national team. Still, over 20 years of our independence, there has piled up some historical facts of relations of Europe and our country. In any case, Belarus is no longer a white spot for Europe. At present, it becomes necessary more and more often explaining what Belarus is rather by deeds, that by words. The behavior, positioning, expressing your considerations and assessments has become relevant to Europe and to the whole world, not only to a small little corner of the Earth called Belarus.

In this sense, I and the President carry out different works. One of the favorite activities of President of Belarus, in my opinion, is telling that the Belarusians are the same Russian people, but with a quality mark. But this is a message in a completely different direction; it is oriented to the east. And my point is different: the Belarusians are the same Europeans, only with complexities and challenges that they face in their lives. And these are the problems of a different order, a different quality than those faced by other Europeans.

- Many of the issues that you are solving in the International Consortium "EuroBelarus", and in the framework of the National Platform, and under a new initiative of the European dialogue on modernization with Belarus – these are rather technical issues. And what prevents any Belarusian feeling himself a part of the European Community in terms of culture, history, traditions, customs and everyday habits?

- There are many reasons for that. Firstly, this is the interrupted historical tradition. Having been a part of the Soviet Union, and before that a part of the Russian Empire, we haven’t been a part of Europe in a full historical and cultural sense. Our European identity lies on a little deeper level. This is our historical complexity, which is one of the barriers.

The second barrier, which derives from the first one, it is our hang-ups. Once I was reading a public lecture and unexpectedly this topic emerged. I was asked if I felt any inferiority, as a Belarusian public figure of the Eastern Partnership. And I didn’t really feel confident enough in the framework which other Europeans do not feel any discomfort in. So I fully understand that at the nation level we are extremely inhibited. To get rid of it, a great work should be done. The non-being of a part of Europe, not in words but in deeds creates all these hang-ups. We need to be included in all European processes for our hang-ups to disappear gradually, from generation to generation.

And it all begins with the language problems. How many people at present can you meet, at least in the streets of Minsk, people able to answer a foreigner in English to a question "How do I get to the library?". I'm not talking about situations that we can observe in the Belarusian airport, when our staff is not able to deal in fluent English with arriving foreigners. This is also one of the signs of how much we are really not ready yet to be a part of the European space.

On possibilities and missions

- It is necessary to take into account a lot of minor issues that are not so important, but influence also the European identity of Belarusians. Just have a look at how the entire infrastructure of our society is arranged; it is in fact quite different from the European one. Therefore, it is difficult, while living here, to go abroad and to feel the same, ranging from the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets, and ending with the fact that for some reason, the European global insurance operates all around the world, including the most distant countries of Africa, and only in Belarus operates some specific Belarusian insurance. All of this is our impossibility of fitting into common [global - EuroBelarus] questions make us, in some sense, people with disabilities.

- Will Belarus be able, from your point of view, to officially become one day a member of the European Union and whether we really need this?

- I think that this horizon is within one human life, though it is very distant. Frankly speaking, I do not have a clear answer to the question of whether Belarus needs to become a part of the European Union. But it is obvious that for Belarus it is important and necessary following the scenario of, let us say, Switzerland or Norway. There is no doubt that we urgently need becoming a part of the European space in the full sense of the word. And addressing the political issue by formal membership in the EU or through bilateral agreements, as Switzerland or Norway did, we could do in the course of proceeding. I would personally like to see Belarus become part of the European Union, but this question should not be unconditional. Until this issue becomes relevant, Belarus has a lot to do to make changes for the better. And it's not as much a straightforward matter to consider all the European being the best. In order for Belarus to be ready to become a member of the EU, for example, our business should be fully prepared to integrate into a common economic space. The degree of privatization must be different; there should be a necessary degree of respect to the market economy management, and the government influence on business players should be minimized. And so on. Many of these things now seem to be fantastic, considering all the trends that exist today in the Belarusian society.

On the other hand, what alternative do we have for today? This concerns not only the absolute choice, but a relative one, as well. I believe that we have only two alternatives: either becoming more organic entity in European relations, or becoming a subject inside of certain Russia-centered community. I would not talk in the second case about the transformation of Belarus into an ordinary region or province of the Russian Federation, as it is hardly necessary for Russia itself, but quite a realistic scenario for us is transforming into a certain satellite of the eastern neighbor. And what we can observe in recent time, unfortunately, is rather proceeding the way according to the second scenario. I see that for our country it is not the best and correct way of development, even taking into account the fact that relations with Russia is a strategic issue that will not disappear.

In addition, there is need to understand adequately our independence issue. The Belarusian independence exists not only in the framework of the Constitution, or in the regime of formal independence attributes, such as the flag and the State Emblem. Our independence exists in terms of how many Belarusian citizens are able to think and act independently. It is not just on those who go to vote, but also on major figures, including businessmen, statesmen, political figures who are able to take into account in the course of their own activity the interests of Belarus, as well.

- Alexander Lukashenko believes that Belarus has some special mission in the geopolitical crossroads of European and Asian interests. Do you share that view?

- I do not see any special geopolitical mission for Belarus. We are still among the number of small nations who don’t have, in fact, everything they need to be called full-fledged nations. We have a lot, but not everything. Just mentioning the problem of the Belarusian language in our country would be enough in order to raise the question of how the Belarusians have upbuilt the nation. Today, we're probably in the process of rebuilding or completing the nation building process. Nevertheless, we rely on certain basis. No matter whether we like it or not, but we have our own Belarusian cultural elite, newspapers, some sort of television. And it is quite a lot, since many nations are deprived of even these things and thus they disappear with great speed on the background of the problems that we experience.

And in terms of our global mission, I believe that without solving the problems that are at arm's length, it is very difficult to make thoughtful and well-grounded judgments on the bridge between East and West and to talk about other global challenges that Belarus faces. I would not pay much attention to this interpretation concept, according to which we, being between the EU and Russia, will act as an interpreter. The process of globalization suggests, firstly, that such kind of interpreters is not in demand any more. And secondly, if we think that someone in the world greatly needs us, it is very big delusion. Until it is us who needs us and until we understand the direction we need to develop, all of geopolitical speculations will have the nature of semi-intellectual exercises.

On culture and integration

- What post-Soviet country development is the most attractive to you, and whose path from the new EU member states you would consider the most similar to the possible future European integration of Belarus?

- I would divide this question into two parts, because here we talk about two regions, which, having much in common with us, after all have evolved in different patterns. In the former Soviet Union, I find it difficult to name an example that would be adequate for being a prototype for a certain development of Belarus. It seems to me that each of the former Soviet republics that have obtained a chance for independent development, today is experiencing success and suffers in its own way. For example, the Baltic countries have chosen a very fast way. In order to rapidly become European, they had to immediately abandon their entire Soviet past; they were forced to cut off at once everything, acquired in the last 50 years, having lost a lot of good, as well. For example, education systems in these countries have considerably suffered. Rejecting the entire Soviet education system, which, as we know, was not the worst, at least in technical fields, these countries have been deprived of significant potential. This potential they would have used more constructively, efficiently, accurately and neatly. I wouldn’t consider such a scenario for Belarus.

There is a variant of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, which have demonstrated at different stages of their development, in one way or another, their active pro-Europeanization. Orange Ukraine, Georgia after the Rose Revolution and today's Moldova, for example. But all these examples do not very encourage quite well. Europeanization successes in these countries have very big problems with development on the opposite side of the scales. For example, in Ukraine, we can see that the forced Europeanization is not supported by the general public, which is more conservative than the pro-European political elite. As a result, after each revolution we can observe some kind of revenge in the country. After all, today’s President of Ukraine isn’t a prove that the Ukrainians love Yanukovych so much, but rather is a reaction to the previous reign of Yushchenko. And I think that today’s Georgia is in a similar state, when the society is greatly divided. So none of the prototypes of the post-Soviet countries does not look so much attractive.

What concerns Central Europe, in this region each country has its own history of EU integration and behavior there. And I think that none of these countries can become a road map for Belarus. If only Slovakia. And here we can talk not even on the way, but on similar circumstances. Slovakia is often compared with Belarus according to various mental similarities, and other parameters. Of course, this country is not an exact copy of Belarus, but the Belarusian and the Slovak nations do really have much in common.

- What and who the European future of Belarus depends on – on the political will in Brussels and Strasbourg, on the official position of the Belarusian state, on Belarusians themselves, or on something else?

- I definitely think that the European future of Belarus depends on Belarusians themselves. And then the question arises: who is now to be considered these "Belarusians themselves?" It's 10 million population, or does this concept have any other formats? I would rather hope, and laid responsibility on the pro-active segments of the population that is economically active, mentally active, politically active and socially active groups who are not ready to live their lives in the passive voice, and thus would like to influence the situation course and to manage this process. These are the different classes of Belarusians, not only politicians and businessmen. In every sphere of our live there are number of people, who set the fashion, determine the behavior and affect the way of thinking. And these are not necessarily only those people who look towards Europe. These are people who are concerned not only with a piece of bread and their tomorrow, but able to think about the day after tomorrow, and not only about their little world, but also about the interests of the whole country. And we now sorely lack such people in the country, whom the rest of the population can pattern their behavior on.

If we talk about people who are not involved in Belarusian affairs, then almost everything connected with our country is perceived in the light of Lukashenko. One can get the wrong impression that there is nothing more happening in Belarus. It is clear that somehow it is a speculation out of range of media scandals, intrigues and investigations. But Belarus has a lot of things that can actually be presented. For example, I think that Belarusian culture today is one of the most interesting and dynamically developing cultures among all the post-Soviet countries. Yes, this is due also to a kind of underground development conditions in which it exists. This is associated also with other causes. In this regard, I would like that not only foreigners, but we were aware not only of what is happening in the political arena of the country, but, for example, were familiar with the works of our contemporary writers, who have grown up a whole generation. Examples are numerous. Take the same Belarusian song culture or our rock bands that exist today in a fairly specific world. But the same banned list of singers – this is, to a certain degree, recognition of the value of a certain culture by a certain segment of our society.

On Russia and Europe

- What should be done in the near future so as not to come true the predictions of those who think that Russia is slowly absorbing our country? And how do you assess the prospects of Belarusian-Russian relations?

- I watch closely publications and opinions of various experts and analysts on this issue. And I’m inclined to the opinion of the majority of Belarusian experts. I think that the Belarusian-Russian relations today, firstly, are unequal, and, secondly, they are built on the principle, similar to relations between the metropolis and the provinces. And the imperial component is stung to all this; it strongly affects the relationships. Although the problems in bilateral relations between Belarus and Russia are on both sides.

From the Russian side there is a direct or indirect dictatorship, and not only in political field. And the things that Europe proposes to our country it is a fundamentally different format. In fact, this is an invitation to fitting into a common space under the clear, transparent and equitable terms. There the question is, whether you are ready or not to meet these conditions, but they do not originally have a discriminatory nature. But the rules of the game in Belarus are clearly different for the Russians and for the Europeans. In this case it is completely clear that Belarus will never move in another part of the world and we will always have Russia as a neighbour, our common border will not disappear. Therefore, in relationships with Russia will still need to find a path that will fit us. I emphasize, will fit us, not Russia. And when I say "us", I mean the nation, not the Belarusian government or any single groups.

This means that the issues of relations between Belarus and Russia and Europe should be the subject of public debates, and not be dealt with behind the scenes. It is necessary to search for different scenarios. After all, for different categories of citizens the Belarusian-Russian relations can be seen in very different ways. Unfortunately, we do not see a reasoned debate on this subject, and everything happens according to the principle "Because I said so". A normal nation does act like this.

- Do you believe in the longevity and effectiveness of the Eurasian Economic Union?

- If we talk in terms of "I believe - I do not believe", then I don’t. From my point of view, this union is not built on equality. There are Russia and the rest world, despite the many documents written about this. And in this case it is simply impossible to imagine relationships with Russia, built on European principles, because Russia is the largest and the thickest; it can not be satisfied with equal conditions with Belarus. Accordingly, this inequality will prevail and be present in these relations always.

All of this Eurasian space today is rather a political project, than economic. And till today this space hasn’t economically justified its existence. Each of the countries still sees this space in a bilateral format, "Me and Russia". So they think in Belarus, so they think in Kazakhstan. Membership in this union doesn’t suggest any geopolitical choice of a country. This project is needed more by different countries’ political leaders, in order to justify their actions than by economic elites of these countries per se.

On the Chinese and Africans                                

- What do you think about the scenario according to which in the distant future the whole of Eurasia, from Lisbon to Vladivostok, will become a single political and economic community?

- I think it's absolutely a real project for the near future. Moreover, all earthmen will become participants of a common economic education area, as soon as, for example, some alien civilization will be discovered. The scale of globalization in this case changes; we all become at once closer to each other, become close neighbors. This seems to be a joke, but in reality it’s very serious. The way of thinking about ourselves and the world determines our reality. Everything is relative; so long as for a Belarusian his village or town will be the limit of his own civilization, any major prospects will seem totally unrealistic. And either we will be just absorbed by of these processes without our consent and participation, or will become the actors of these processes, if we manage to rethink our identity not only as the Belarusian nation, but also when we consider ourselves Europeans in every sense of the word - economic, civic, cultural. And there already questions arise: how many languages ​​do we speak, how many cultures do we know?

For the moment we are far behind in our understanding of the world around us, we often underestimate different regions. We are used to think about Africa, as about a backward part of the world, where everybody is sitting, doing nothing, and waiting for somebody to do his work for him. Still, how many Africans has every Belarusian met in his life, except for those who have studied in some Minsk universities? How many, for example, Egyptian professors, analysts, or at least journalists know every Belarusian? This is the question of how much do we know about the world not through the eyes of Sienkiewicz. We don’t necessarily need to know all the Chinese people, but we need to communicate with at least a few of them to begin judging about their civilization, their development. In addition, it is also a great opportunity to complete forming yourself as a Belarusian. Only then we will be able to answer many questions not individually, but as a full-fledged nation.

- Will we able to live up to the day when Belarus becomes a European unit, equivalent in status, roles, capabilities, for example, to Slovakia, Slovenia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, and other not the largest EU states?

- I would say that only while talking about it, we will be able to live up to that time, when in our status and self-awareness we become similar to those countries. Just talking about - this means that only through intense interpersonal and intersocial communication. On the other hand, living up to that time is possible not only by talking, that is not limiting to mere talks, but by carrying out concrete actions in this direction.

Belarus is in urgent need of changes, including changes in the relationship between citizens. In our society, there is too much negative experience, accumulated over the years of mistrust and misunderstanding. We must get rid of it as soon as possible. In what way? As in any family. If everyone is sitting in his corner and is muttering something under his breath, it is unlikely that this could lead to better relationships. But the situation can be corrected not by slugging it out, but by finding the causes that have led to such relations. What we're doing today is not so as to preserve the country for some better times that will never come if we just try to save something. Especially because no one knows what we expect in future times. It may happen that the current times will seem to us not so bad in future. As far as in recent 20 years it seems that everything is already bad enough, but every year it is still getting harder. But I believe that Belarus will acquire the new status in the course of our lives.