Markov was asked if there would be more Belarusian-language TV programs in the country

Photo: BelTA

Information Minister Marat Markov was asked about Belarusian-language programs on television and it was suggested to make at least 45% of television broadcasting in Belarusian.

"Despite the fact that Belarus has two state languages, there are not many Belarusian-language TV programs. On some TV channels, there are no Belarusian-language programs at all. Is it possible to create more Belarusian-language TV programs? So that at least 45% of all TV broadcasting is in Belarusian?" — the Minister of Information was asked.

His answer was published on the ministry's Telegram channel.

Markov agreed that "indeed, there are not many Belarusian-language programs on TV."

"The situation did not develop yesterday and reflects the general situation in society. Let me remind you what I have already written in this section: despite the fact that more than half of the country's citizens, according to the latest census, named Belarusian as their native language, less than a quarter of the population speaks it.

It is important to understand here that simply taking and saying: 'Now 45% of the airtime will be in Belarusian!' — this approach, in reality, is more like an adventure," Markov believes.

He says that "TV channels earn from advertising and focus on viewer demand," and that demand, Markov says, is for Russian-language content.

"We do not have public television, there is no mandatory monthly Abonament RTV fee for owning a TV and no fees for smartphones, tablets, laptops, TVs as in Poland and a number of other European states. TV channels earn from advertising and focus on viewer demand. And only 1.1% of TV viewers, according to a 2025 social survey by the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, prefer watching TV programs in Belarusian. Another third of respondents note an equal degree of preference for both Russian and Belarusian languages in TV content. And what is indicative, the share of TV viewing of our cultural TV channel Belarus 3, where Belarusian-language programs prevail, is on average 2.5%. We simply cannot ignore this reality," says Markov.

He says that the Russian language cannot be "infringed upon."

"Cultivating love for the Belarusian language is necessary comprehensively — through culture, education, information resources. And certainly without the slightest infringement of the other state language.

Therefore, the Ministry of Information sees its task not in artificially imposing percentage ratios, but in stimulating TV channels to create high-quality, interesting, and competitive content in Belarusian.

I don't see the point in complicating this issue at the present time, given all the nightmare happening in the world.

The main thing is that any attempts to publicly discriminate against any of the state languages, as well as any other national language, or to show disrespect for it, must be strictly stopped in their infancy. It is the exacerbation of linguistic, national, and religious issues that often leads to the collapse of states. And for Belarus, where more than 150 nationalities live, this is more than relevant," says Markov.

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