Khalezin: «What are you doing?» should be asked not of Babaryka, but his advisors

Ivan Krautsou. Photo: Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's Office

The feeling of déjà vu never leaves Belarusians. They ask one question, addressing it to each other because there is no one else to ask: «Will every released famous Belarusian publicly embark on their solo 'rake walk,' repeatedly hitting themselves in the face?»

The answer is obvious: not everyone. Because Pavel Seviarynets, Maryna Zolatava, Maksim Znak did not agree to various interviews… But former presidential candidates did — Siarhei Tsikhanouski a little earlier, Viktar Babaryka a little later.

And here, it seems to me, the question «What are you doing?» should be addressed not to them, but to their «advisors,» or rather, their «counselors.»

In the United States or Great Britain, no leading political figures listen to mere «advisors,» because for many decades, these countries have had an established institution of political consultants, whose role is precisely to help politicians avoid «rakes» and save face.

In the post-Soviet space, such people are commonly referred to as «PR specialists,» which is a gross political and pathological error. «PR» is derived from public relations — connections with society. But an active politician needs not only to build connections with the public but also to identify societal development trends, economic sector development trends, existing innovations in various fields, an understanding of different countries' efforts in geopolitics etc.

At the same time, I will probably surprise the uninitiated: political consultants work exclusively within the framework of their political convictions — a Republican political consultant would never work for a Democratic client, no matter how much they were offered as an honorarium.

But we have «PR specialists,» and that's why the result is what it is — one scandal follows another without pause. Hearing one piece of nonsense, we receive another before we even have time to discuss the first. And our lives gradually turn into a constant «Spanish shame,» even though we weren't born in Madrid or Bilbao.

Of course, one could close one's eyes to these localized nuclear explosions, but the trouble is that their ripple effect touches all of us — Belarusians. Even I, being several thousand kilometers from the «explosion's» epicenter, receive the same request from foreign partners: explain what this means? And I answer: five years of solitude, incommunicado, torture, relatives held hostage…

In fact, no. The issue is different — someone advises our heroes to give these interviews and somehow prepares them for them. Quite recently, Siarhei Tsikhanouski aired an absurd story about the «Finlandization» of Belarus, listening to his «PR specialist» Vadim Prokopyev.

I don't know exactly who «helps» Viktar Babaryka, but I see from the broadcasts that Ivan Krautsou and Anton Radniankou are the main speakers on his and Maria Kalesnikava's behalf. And recalling how, after their escape to Ukraine, they also couldn't articulate a clear answer to the journalist's question «Whose Crimea?», the answer suggests itself that they are indeed the «PR specialists» of the ex-presidential candidate.

Volodymyr Zolkin's interview explained to us that the awkwardness of the first press conference was not an accident but a pattern — Viktar Babaryka is unlikely to side with Ukraine and will maintain neutrality. While some might have overlooked this in 2020, now this «neutrality» looks more like a betrayal not only of Ukrainians but also of those Belarusians who cannot accept the Nazi essence of the eastern neighbor.

But someone suggested Viktar Dzmitryevich participate in this interview? In an interview with Volodya, who «exposed» hardened Russian GRU officers, let alone Belarusians who spent no more than a year in politics back in 2019-20.

It only remains to ask Krautsou-Radniankou: what other interesting interviews will we see in the near future, so we can stock up on… no, not popcorn; rather validol.

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