Opinions & Interviews

Lukashenko speaks about large-scale sociological survey in Belarus

MINSK, 3 February (BelTA) – A large-scale sociological survey is underway in Belarus, President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at the meeting to discuss the preparation and conduct of the Belarusian People’s Congress on 2 February, BelTA has learned.

“I would like to address the Belarusian people. We have taken a decision (I took it long ago) on a large-scale sociological study in Belarus. There have been made an instruction to finish it by the Belarusian People's Congress in order to raise there the issues of people’s concern, the issues of utmost importance for Belarus’ development. These sociological polls have been launched. Some cities, labor collectives have been surveyed. In the next few days we will survey people (we have not actually studied the rural areas, small towns and district centers) and individual enterprises we are most concerned about,” said the head of state.

“I address the people: when representatives of our sociological services come to you and ask a particular question, I very much ask you to answer these questions objectively and honestly. For me personally it is very important. It is very important for all of us, so that we could make good, verified decisions. I completely guarantee anonymity,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko.

As for the anonymity of the survey, the president made a special emphasis on this point, because some citizens are unwilling to publicly express their position. "Our protesters and others have begun to publish personal data in Telegram-channels and so on. They [people] have an opinion, they know what to do, they know whom to trust, but they do not want to express their opinions publicly. That is why the poll will be personal and completely anonymous. No names and so on. I ask the people to answer the questions that will be asked by the sociological services. They will be very decent people. There will be no posting on the internet or anywhere else,” the head of state said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko also emphasized the importance of complete objectivity of the sociological survey, the results of which will be published. “The questions are very interesting and very pressing. They concern the lives of our people,” said the Belarusian leader.

He said that the survey would be run by a foreign company, not a Belarusian one. “We need to engage more Russians at this stage. If our opposition starts complaining about Russians, please engage Ukrainians. They speak Russian very well and will be able to communicate freely with our people. Engage other people, who want to get involved and help us conduct objective sociological research. Yes, Belarusian sociologists will be involved as well. They, however, should not be the main players here so that there is trust in sociological studies from all groups of the population,” the president said.

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