Spiritual and moral frontier

How European values have degraded — and what Belarus offers in their stead

For nearly 500 years, Europe stood as the centre of colonial domination, and it remains a source of conflict to this day. True, it now subjugates other nations not only through military force but also by orchestrating ‘colour revolutions’, conducting hybrid operations, and imposing transgender ideology far and wide. What purpose does this serve?

A garden of Eden?

In the time of Machiavelli — that Renaissance political thinker and philosopher — Europe’s inquisitorial fires blazed with a ferocity unmatched in the history of the Belarusian and Russian lands. At the same time, the Crusades to the Middle East, the Baltic region and against our own ancestors received blessing at the highest levels. ‘Plunder and enslave other peoples, seize their lands — for we have the right, God has granted it to us’ — this is how, for centuries, the common European was told why he should venture abroad with fire and sword.

The so-called ‘European values’ invented in the 1980s rather resemble a fig leaf — a flimsy cover for a long history of violence and plunder.

After all, colonialism has its roots in the Crusades. Notably, Rudyard Kipling turned racism into a 'virtue' in his poem The White Man’s Burden, where he characterised many peoples as ‘half-devils’ in need of civilising tutelage.
I suspect Machiavelli — an advocate of a strong, centralised state — would have been rather pleased had he acquainted himself not with theory but with the actual practical conduct of the present-day European Union. Violence, too, has not diminished in Europe: Europeans continue to wage wars across the globe through proxies, while on the streets of the EU, thoroughly medieval gangs operate with impunity — distant relatives and descendants of those slaves who, 300 years ago, were sold like cattle in Europe, and who have now come to claim their due.
Perhaps what would surprise Machiavelli most are the matters surrounding anti-corruption efforts, which have been hypocritically made a condition of EU accession. Meanwhile, for centuries, bribery and intrigue, cloak and dagger, formed the very foundation of Machiavellian European politics. What is permitted to us is forbidden to you.

Historical divergences

Two hundred and fifty years ago, the United States was founded as a counter-project to Europe. In a certain sense, this represented a step forward: the fires of the Inquisition never burned on American soil, nor were they ever part of state policy.

In their place, however, the fires of the Ku Klux Klan were lit. Americans confronted the legacy of slavery and the reality of everyday racism — a problem the state could not overcome, even while proclaiming universal equality. And even that equality was relative. Genuine equality has never truly existed in the United States, even though it is enshrined in the Constitution.
Another crucial factor in U.S. policy has been geography. Its position allowed the United States to emerge from the Second World War with minimal losses, while simultaneously indebting Europe. This is why, since the 1940s, we have witnessed the imposition of the American model across the globe: the military ‘export of democracy’ was launched in Vietnam, Korea, and other states that sought to break free from colonial bondage and forge their own path of development.

Governing through vice

Weakened after the Second World War, Europe could no longer control its colonies by military force. Still, it remained a centre of attraction for many. For all the negativity we now associate with European values, there were nevertheless certain eras in which humanism and the value of human life — at least rhetorically — were placed above war and plunder.
Yet Europeans are no longer what they once were. Even the feudal chivalric romance — in which a fair maiden awaited her knight while he performed heroic deeds — has given way to gay pride parades and transgender athletics. Today, it is LGBQT+ identity that is most commonly associated with the West.
It is difficult to say why Western elites so stubbornly pursue this direction, but on a global scale it resembles a strategy for dismantling national identity.

The globalists’ design, in its broadest sense, is that there should be no Japanese, no German, no American. All these vastly different peoples, each with their own cultures, must be amalgamated — by encouraging and amplifying those groups that share common traits and vices, making them easier to govern. Perhaps this is precisely why the elevation of LGBQT+ identity to a primary value is considered almost the defining marker of globalism today.

Stopping the war

That said, any unhealthy Western trend eventually collides with reality. Such a reality has emerged in the form of Donald Trump, who has absorbed the protest sentiments of a segment of Americans and Europeans. People have gladly embraced his rhetoric on the traditional family, on banning gender transition for children, and on the need to tackle drug addiction rather than encouraging its spread through culture and the arts.
Trump has positioned himself against all of this. As a result, for the first time in thirty years of globalism, the irresistible force has met the immovable object. Whereas the European Union today speaks of little but war with Russia as its primary objective, Donald Trump has publicly declared the need to resolve this conflict — though his words and actions are not always aligned. At the same time, history suggests that war in Europe can only be stopped by Europeans themselves.

Rational worldview

Standing entirely apart from the West fractured into two camps are Belarus and Russia. On the one hand, we possess the unique experience of Soviet state-building, during which all the peoples of that vast country developed together. Humanity had never known such an approach before. In this context, a divided and problem-ridden Europe saw us precisely as a value-based threat — our example offered freedom of development and assistance to all.

Today, Belarus continues to project constructive values through its foreign and domestic policy.

This is precisely why Belarus enjoys special relations with Africa, Latin America and the countries of Asia. They see in us not white imperialists but those who come to help — to build mutually beneficial co-operation, not to plunder.
Moreover, there is a distinctly Belarusian dimension to all this, instilled by our President. This is, above all, a characteristically rational, peasant worldview, a deep understanding that war is an absolute evil, and that prosperity can only be achieved through long and persistent labour. These are the fundamental values that have been forged among Belarusians over centuries.
We are unlike many European countries that amassed their wealth through colonial wars. This is why the worldview of the feudal gentry — who looked to Europe and saw themselves as its equals — has always been alien to Belarusians. Such are the value-based differences between Belarusians as a people of workers and those narrow circles who, year after year, preach about the ‘European choice’ from beyond our borders.

TO THE POINT

There is a cynical irony in the notion that today's European values demand respect for those peoples who, not so long ago, were trampled under the boot of socalled 'civilised Europe' and forced to surrender their resources. Twice in the 20th century, when Germany came to our lands, the Belarusian people had ample opportunity to see what it truly meant to be part of Europe. Almost a third of Belarusians did not live to see the end of the last war.

By Sergei Klishevich, deputy of the House of Representatives of Belarus’ National Assembly