Author: The article “Belarus’ leader helicopters over Minsk with a rifle as protesters below demand his resignation” by Mary Ilyushina, CNN is written by Mary Ilyushina to inform people of what is going on in Belarus and how the president or more accurately dictator addresses the demands of his people.

Rhetorical Analysis/Exigence: So this article from a side view doesn’t focus on any specific social issue, however if you dig deeper it is displaying how corruption within governments subdues the desires of people often to a point that crosses moral standing. According to the article the president of Belarus “Alexander Lukashenko responded to huge anti-government protests and calls for his resignation by posting video of himself flying over Minsk in riot gear, with a rifle hanging from his shoulder.” The main point of the article is to inform people that revolting against oppression and corruption such as the government within Belarus is important for the freedom of people.

Audience: This article is primarily meant for people that want to know what is happening in other countries and want to help. From the way the article is focusing on the actions of the president and how he treats his people. It is almost designed to get anyone involved and speak out about it. It is targeted towards people that would see this and speak out against this oppression whether they are Belarusian or not. It also to a degree can be targeted towards society as a whole and could be compared to the actions of our current president in regard to his time in office and actions during the recent pandemic we have all been affected by.

Purpose: The main purpose of the article is to capture the oppression and injustice currently taking place within Belarus and to get people interested and to find out more about what is going on. As well as to show the point to which corruption and oppression can grow within a government. Almost as a warning. For people around the world to not wait to fight for their freedom and justice like the people of Belarus did by allowing Lukashenko to remain their dictator for 26 years. To stand up and fight for one’s country is something that can also be inspiring for other countries around the world. Lukashenko isn’t the only dictator out there and maybe someone in another country will see what is happening in Belarus and decide to take action within one’s own country to fight corruption and oppression.

Genre: the genre of this text is an informal article that is telling people about how far governments can go and what it can mean for people around the world. Its mostly informative and has little opinion if at all regarding the actions of the president however it feels like it is designed in a way to get people to get involved almost. For a president to walk out into protestors with a machine gun, that will get anyone riled up. Which goes back to the article we had to read which talked about how the way words are structured and change how people interpret them.

Stance: Since this article is almost free of opinion, it has no stance. It is however slightly biased in the opposition of Lukashenko.

Source:https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/24/europe/lukashenko-belarus-helicopter-rifle-protests-intl/index.html