Characteristics of the Belarusian media system

Abstract

The article presents the shape, structure and functioning of the media system in Belarus which substantially depends on the political regime. Thus, The Belarusian media can be divided into the system ones (acting on behalf of and in the interest of the government) and non-system media that present and create alternative information. The text also focuses on the techniques of control over the state media and repressive policy of the authorities towards the independent media. The analysis of the Belarusian media market and the information and communication space would not be complete without the assessment of the role and place of the Russian media in the process of public opinion-forming of Belarussians. This issue as well as the media and information policy of the authoritarian regime are of extreme importance, particularly in the context of the events in Ukraine when the Russian media became the key tool in the so-called hybrid war.