Against the background of growth of positive moods in society and of the head of state’s ratings, the share of those who declare their readiness to participate in acts of protest against the worsening of financial position grew significantly (Table 1). 22.9% of respondents declared themselves ready for this in March 2014. This is 8.2 points more than at the peak of the economic crisis of 2011!
Thus the axiom that the worsening of financial position itself doesn’t lead to a growth of protest moods was confirmed once more. A typical representative of the “majority” would sooner respond to a crisis with degradation (alcohol addiction, asocial behavior), than with a wish to change something in his life or even more so in the political system of his country.
The growth of protest moods, recorded in March, is a direct consequence of Euromaydan. This is the result of agitation of that part of Belarusian society, which assessed positively mass protests in Ukraine: among Belarusians, who supported V. Yanukovich, only 7.3 of respondents declared their readiness to participate in acts of protest, while this share among the supporters of Euromaydan amounted to 44.8%.
It should be noted that the share of citizens, considering themselves in opposition to the present power, didn’t change in comparison with March 2013 even against the background of protest moods’ growth (Table 2). The record level of oppositional moods in Belarusian society was recorded during the economic crisis of 2011. The majority of Belarusians held A. Lukashenko responsible for it (in September 2011 61.2% of respondents considered A. Lukashenko as the main originator of the crisis, 41.3% blamed the government and 16.3% blamed the USA).
The absence of direct relation between the level of protest moods and the number of people in opposition should be regarded as a rule and not an exception.
Rating of trust of opposition parties lives a life of its own as well, not depending on the level of protest and oppositional moods (Table 3). Neither mass protests on Maydan, nor economic crisis did not increase trust in opposition.
At the same time general growth of positive moods, provoked by Russian news shown by Belarusian TV, increased the trust rating of state mass media by 2.9 points (December 2013 – 31.6%, March 2014 – 34.5%). As for the trust rating of independent mass media, it dropped by 9.3 points (from 41% to 31.7%).
According to the Declaration of Independence of the USA of the 4th of July, 1776, “when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security”.
15.6% of Belarusians agree that they have this right to throw off their Government (Table 4). There are those, who agree with this, even among A. Lukashenko’s supporters – 7%. Among those, who don’t trust A. Lukashenko, the share of those who think that people dissatisfied with the power can change it by all means is almost 4-folds higher – 27.2%.
The share of “revolutionaries” among Belarusians who trust national mass media amounts only to 2%, among those, who trust non-state mass-media – 21.8%.
Majority of people sincerely think that they analyze a situation while often they only repeat over and over what they have been told or showed on TV. Belarusian “minority” is not an exception to this rule. TV images from Maydan strengthened their wish to protest, or, more specifically, their wish to declare this readiness.
As for the “majority”, the same images were perceived by them as chaos, and they try to overcome it by orientation to the order pole, i.e. the power.