Belarus: Students no longer learn their mother tongue
The Russification of Belarus has reached a new level. Schools are asked to abandon the teaching of the Belarusian language in favor of Russian. As a result, children no longer learn their parent's language.
Putin’s vassal, Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko, has been unraveling Belarusian culture since he came to power in 1994 and his alliance with Moscow. Thus, Russian has officially become the only language taught in Belarusian schools. This deprives children of their mother tongue within the school environment. In addition, this sometimes involves changes of first name, for the Russian version. Thus, a student called Mikalay, for example, becomes Nikolai, the Russian equivalent, for teachers and school administration.
Linguistic cleansing
Of course, Russian is a lingua franca in the former USSR bloc. Many Ukrainians spoke it daily before the invasion. It's therefore logical for a Belarusian to learn it as a secondary language, especially for exchanges between the two countries. However, gradually erasing the national language is akin to Russia taking control of its neighbor, with the complicity of Lukashenko, who doesn't fail to disdain the language of his citizens in favor of Russian… and English. This systemic suppression of Belarusian is also found in the work place and with contacts with the authorities, in favor of Russian. In addition, universities ban dissertations in Belarusian.
Anti-Ukrainian propaganda
Some schools are trying to resist, but authorities are trying to get them into line. Further proof of indoctrination, the official Belarusian school curriculum is now synchronized with that of Russia. In addition, students had to watch a propaganda film. It showed how the Ukrainian special services would recruit teenagers to force them to commit acts of sabotage in Belarus. And to parents who might wonder about the veracity of this video and the disappearance of Belarusian cultural references, the message is unequivocal: no questions on this subject (of Russification).
(MH with Olivier Duquesne – Source: Euronews – Picture: © picture alliance / ZB | Sascha Steinach)