Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Advisor on Education and Science, Tatiana Shchyttsova, commented on Lukashenka’s demand for scientists to be ‘the most ardent advocates’ of the regime’s official policy.
“A few days ago, during a meeting with a working group evaluating the work of the Academy of Sciences, Lukashenka said: ‘A citizen with the high title of a scientist must be the most ardent advocate of the state policies’.
The idea that scientists should work in the interests of the state may seem convincing. But the question is what is meant by ‘the state’. The state can be understood as the state apparatus. In our case, it is the power vertical that supports the dictatorial regime. Lukashenka could well have uttered the famous ‘I am the state’. Hence, his interpretation of civic duty is framed in terms of loyalty and support for the regime’s position.
But the state can also be understood more broadly – as a synonym for the country, as res publica. Lukashenka and his propaganda often exploit this ambiguity of the word ‘state’. By urging action in the interests of the country, they are actually seeking support for the dictatorship. However, the interests of a specific regime and the interests of the country may not coincide, especially if it is an inhumane regime usurping power.
In the Third Reich, many scientists supported and ‘scientifically justified’ Hitler’s policies. But there were also those who criticized Nazism in the interest of a different future for their country. Many opponents of the regime (including world-renowned scientists) died, and many others were forced into exile.
One can find numerous publications by Belarusian scientists that have no scientific value and serve purely propagandistic purposes. At the same time, hundreds of educators have lost their jobs because of their democratic views. Many qualified scientists have been forced into exile. Many have been convicted and served or are still serving illegally imposed sentences, including social scientist Yury Bubnou, biologist Aleh Davydzenka, social scientist Tatsiana Vadalazhskaya, linguist Natallia Dulina, linguist Natallia Zhloba, political scientist Valeria Kastsiuhova, political scientist Tatsiana Kuzina, philosopher Uladzimir Matskevich — this list is far from complete.
Belarusian science is indeed in a deep crisis. The first step to overcoming this crisis should be the release of all scientists and educators convicted on political grounds”.
