Mass Media Under the Eye of Big Brother: Governmental Control Over Mass Media in Belarus
Mass Media Under the Eye of Big Brother: Governmental Control Over Mass Media in Belarus

Summary/Abstract: For authoritarian leaders, strict control over the mass media a key mean of maintaining power. Belarus, a post-Soviet country ruled by President Alexander Lukashenko since 1994, is an exemplary case of a contemporary authoritarian country. This paper examines legal and economic means of governmental control over the mass media in Belarus. The concept of ancient enemies of the press, developed by Fredrick S. Siebert, served as a theoretical framework for the study. Methods used in this work include document analysis of Belarusian and international reports on media freedom in Belarus; a close analysis of Belarusian Constitution, Civil and Criminal Codes; secondary analysis of the public opinion polls; and interviews with experts. This article illustrates how the Belarusian authorities use the „ancient enemies of the press“ to censor the mass media, and demonstrates how a modern day authoritarian regime uses various means to implement governmental control of information flow in the country.

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