{"id":142821,"date":"2025-06-16T13:37:11","date_gmt":"2025-06-16T10:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/142821\/"},"modified":"2025-06-16T13:37:13","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T10:37:13","slug":"world-through-conspiracy-lens-lukasenkas-potato-paranoia","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/142821\/","title":{"rendered":"World through conspiracy lens: \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s potato paranoia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka exhibits a deeply rooted paranoia, interpreting events around him not as the result of structural or objective forces, but as manifestations of hostile conspiracies. This mindset permeates his rule and distorts his understanding of both domestic affairs and international dynamics.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n \"\"\n
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\n\n \u0141uka\u0161enka and his son picking potatoes outside their residence on August 16, 2025\n <\/div>\n \n
\n (\u0141uka\u0161enka's website)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cpotato plot\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Speaking at the Bie\u0142aru\u015bfilm studio on June 10, the Belarusian ruler linked the country\u2019s potato shortage to political resistance from retailers unhappy with his price controls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was about politics. There were enough potatoes, but in some places, they [producers or retailers] held back [from selling] to show that the president interfered with pricing and caused it [the shortage and high prices]. And when he [presumably a security officer] went there and put handcuffs on their table, the potatoes reappeared [on the counter],\u201d \u0141uka\u0161enka said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He did not identify those responsible or explain how the potatoes were \u201cheld back,\u201d but insisted that Belarus had \u201cenough of everything,\u201d including potatoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A conspiratorial mindset<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Those familiar with \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s political trajectory will find nothing surprising in yet another alleged plot. His entire career has been framed as a tireless battle against shadowy enemies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This fixation is rooted in his personality: a deep-seated suspicion, an inability to trust even close associates and a constant expectation of betrayal. \u0141uka\u0161enka habitually offers simplistic explanations for complex problems, packaging them as \u201ccommon sense\u201d truths for mass consumption. Like many populists, he reduces politics to easily digestible narratives, typically revolving around a single villain: the enemy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blaming all setbacks on enemies\u2019 machinations is a hallmark of authoritarian rulers \u2014 and it is especially central to \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s worldview. This conspiratorial lens, combined with the isolation of a closed political system, creates a toxic mix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Belarus\u2019s authoritarian system, honest feedback loops between the state and society are broken. Officials deliver only filtered propaganda upward, not public sentiment. Despite the appearance of complete control via a rigid vertical structure, the regime often loses its grasp on real societal dynamics. This lack of insight breeds a natural, if subconscious, fear of the unknown. As the saying goes, \u201cfear has big eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, despite no visible signs of unrest, the regime prepared for the 2024 parliamentary and local elections and the 2025 presidential election as if bracing for war. The specter of protest loomed large, even if it was only in the minds of those in power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eternal \u201cexposer\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka views nearly every event \u2014 domestic or global \u2014 through the prism of conspiracy. Whether it\u2019s economic turmoil or public discontent, he attributes the cause to sabotage rather than circumstance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the 1998 financial crisis, which saw the Belarusian ruble collapse, \u0141uka\u0161enka blamed the West, the opposition and Russian democrats for engineering the catastrophe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This refusal to analyze structural causes \u2014 especially regarding events like the mass protests of 2020 \u2014 results in a distorted, self-serving narrative. Rather than grapple with the legitimacy crisis of his regime, \u0141uka\u0161enka dismissed the unrest as a foreign-backed coup attempt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For thirty years, he has claimed to uncover one conspiracy after another, with striking regularity:<\/p>\n\n\n\n