I posted two months ago that I had left the US to... somewhere. Well, it was Belarus. Because my mom is from here. So there's that. I'm just one smol human bean with vicious brain worms, but I'd be happy to answer questions about/from the perspective of this point on the Google Maps before we're disconnected by the Iron Curtain 2.0.
(It's evening here, I have a few hours, but if I don't answer your question I'll get back to it tomorrow I promise (unless it's redundant/silly/makes me mad lol))
E: I'm going to bed but I'll answer any new questions when I'm up, as promised.
Belarus is a "moderately-developed" country according to various Western rating agencies. The rich-poor divide is rather narrow, compared to many other countries. Which doesn't mean it doesn't exist, there are very rich people here too (Belarus never allowed Russian-style oligarchs, and they don't control the govt). But it also means that there are very few homeless, health care is socialized and free (you gotta pay for some stuff, but it's affordable for the majority of people), utilities are subsidized, pensions are guaranteed to all (depending on your work experience though) etc etc. So what you get in the end is that the majority of people lives more or less modestly (compared to the US standards) but there is almost no one left behind. The highest salaries here rn are in the IT, it's booming. And people who protest the govt the most are these people too, the petit bourgeois, if you please.
Covid closed a lot of businesses here, like everywhere else. So there was an increased wave of discontent because of that. But in my experience covid-blame is not a developed narrative here. Ppl here generally have a deeply rooted habit to blame the govt for even the smallest thing, thanks to all the Western NGOs and narratives too, but still, yeah, at least in my circles ppl love to complain abt the govt (but I'm not representative, it can be a bubble, by various ests rn I feel 30% firmly support the govt, 10-20 firmly oppose, and the rest just love to complain, it's a kind of Slav way of talking to one another anyway). I'd say very few ppl I know blame the West outright (fools lol, we're under so many western sanctions).
Not entirely. It's kind of the same as it was when Crimea got annexed. It's Russia-friendly in general, but there are anti-war calls (including from prez), no official recognition of Russian claims etc. It's more Russia friendly now though. And among pundits even more friendly. There is talk of the "New Eurasia": goodbye to the West, enough trying to follow that, it's bankrupt, the future is Belarus-Russia-China (Iran-India etc etc).
Interesting. Thanks for the detailed answer!
Lol, I can tell you are a Westerner since that's been a thing as long as Slavs have been alive. No attack on you
I have spent half of my life in the US. And for the three quarters of that I'd been a rabid lib. So fair.