The state is increasingly concerned with the patriotic education of the youth

At the seventh plenary session of the Voluntary Association for Assistance to Army, Air Force and Navy of CIS the interim Belarusian secretary of the Security Council Stanislau Zas’ underlined that during the last few years the feeling of patriotism in the Russian society has grown immensely. At the same time despite the attempts of the Belarusian authorities to promote “deep patriotism” as a state ideology the level of loyalty of the population to the state raises concerns – especially in the context of the conflict in the Ukraine and a deep split caused by it within the Belarusian society. However, Belarusian authorities attempt to adopt the rhetoric of their opponents on the value of independence and sovereignty. Despite that fact the authorities are still not ready to allow citizens to influence state policies more actively.