Belarus to Launch Domestic YouTube Alternative – Reportedly Assisted by Austrian Firm

Leaked documents have shown that Belarus’s planned state video hosting platform, scheduled to launch on Sept. 12, was developed with cooperation from an Austrian telecommunication company.

According to Belarusian state news agency BELTA, Belarusian Deputy Head of the Administration Vladimir Pertsov announced the plan in late August at a meeting with Belarusian President Alexandr Lukashenko.

“Video hosting videobel.by. This is our first [over-the-top] OTT platform, which will host programs and various sections. And even off-air activities of video content creators. If you like, this is a rather weak analog, but such a first step towards creating a Belarusian YouTube,” Pertsov said.

Pertsov said the site would host live broadcasts from Belarusian TV channels in addition to user-generated content, as well as news updates from BELTA on its main page.

Belarusian opposition news outlet Zerkalo reported Monday, citing leaked documents obtained by a local hacker group Cyberpartisans, that the project was initiated in early 2023 on Lukashenko’s order due to YouTube’s removal of Minsk’s state propaganda content.

The documents said the Belarusian subsidiary of Austria’s A1 Telekom was involved in the development, and negotiations started in the summer of 2023.

“The roadmap for developing a video hosting service for national TV channels, which Cyberpartisans gained access to, also includes the Belarusian subsidiary of the Austrian provider A1. According to the working correspondence of BELTA employees, negotiations on the joint implementation of the project have been underway since the beginning of summer 2023,” reported Zerkalo.

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The company’s site said it is “the second largest private telecommunications, [information and communications technology] ICT and content service provider in Belarus.”

An A1 Group report released in August 2023, which described Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine as “conflict in Ukraine,” claimed the company was complying with Western sanctions, though the Belarusian subsidiary likely maintained business with sanctioned entities.

“The Group Compliance and Legal team monitors the sanctions and works closely with the affected units within A1 Group to ensure compliance. No A1Group company – with the exception of A1 Belarus – was found to have direct business relationships with legal entities sanctioned by the EU,” it said.

It said Western sanctions on Belarus due to the country’s involvement in Russia’s invasion mainly affected the supply chain, but the company has worked around the issues.

“Export sanctions led to short-term delays in the delivery of hardware, software, and services to Belarus, but without jeopardizing operations – and thus our service to non-sanctioned individuals and companies,” the report read.

“While imposed sanctions did not have an immediate threat to the business continuity, supply chain with key vendors was interrupted and A1 Belarus focused to re-establish deliveries under the new sanction framework and telco exception rules,” it added.

Austria has long been questioned by critics for its dealings with Russia following the 2022 invasion, with an unnamed EU official alleging in 2023 that Vienna’s lax approach to espionage has allowed Russian spies to thrive in the heart of Europe.