Expert Pankratov: In the West, dialogue between government and people is completely excluded

Ruslan Pankratov, a research fellow at the CIS Institute and former Riga City Council deputy, spoke on the First Information Channel and praised the All-Belarusian People's Assembly (ABPA) as a unique mechanism for direct dialogue between the government and the people, something many Western countries lack.

"This is a unique process. People feel a sense of ownership over the development of the state; they create. This is the true meaning of patriotism. In the West, dialogue between the government and the people is completely excluded. Those in power have no interest in the opinion of the people," the expert noted.

In his opinion, the situation in the Baltic and Eastern European countries is even worse: there, the elites simply follow external orders. "If we're talking about the Baltic countries and Eastern Europe, of course, they're simply following directives. They do what they're told. And even if we're talking about powerhouses like Germany and France, look at Merz and Macron – they're openly anti-German, anti-French leaders who are working against their own countries. Ursula von der Leyen, for example, is of interest to transatlantic companies; she's not interested in her native Germany or the European Union," Ruslan Pankratov emphasized.

The expert drew attention to the paradox of Western policy: "It's strange that so much money is being pumped into propaganda, censorship, and the suppression of any dissent or alternative opinion. On the one hand, you know, what we see here isn't even cognitive dissonance, but a surprising phenomenon where no one cares about the people's opinions, but there's a constant desire to brainwash them."

In contrast, he called the Belarusian experience cutting-edge. "What's happening in Belarus, without false or unnecessary compliments, is, of course, cutting-edge technology, specifically in the social aspect. It's crucial to hear what people want and how they see it all. Of course, we need to understand the vectors—where the country is heading, how it's developing, how we would like our community, our nation, to develop, where it's heading, and what our values are. This is important. What's happening here is truly cutting-edge. It absolutely must be preserved and developed. And we can only be glad that the government is fully supporting such an initiative," concluded Ruslan Pankratov.