Mikalai Autukhovich: People Get Nervous Break-Downs

The former political prisoner believes that the authorities provoke sole traders to violations and desperate actions.

Former political prisoner and now one of the founders of the sole traders’ trade union Salidarnasts Mikalai Autukhovich said in his interview to Radio Racyja why small business representatives are taking desperate steps.

This week a 55-year-old businesswoman, who had committed a suicide, was buried in Homel. Just before the tax authorities had confiscated her goods, according to some sources, they were incriminating her illegal business activities, and the woman could lose not only goods, but also her property. On the day when the sole trader was buried, her case was supposed to be heard in the Economic court of Homel.

Also this week, a businesswoman fainted in the courtroom after the Ministry of Trade had inspected her, and was taken to the hospital.

– People are getting nervous breakdowns. If a person knows that he works to feed his children, and he is constantly under pressure, he can easily get a nervous collapse. Yes, maybe he has some minor errors in his work, but he takes risk for the sake of the family. People know that every day inspectors might turn up and confiscate goods. They work and take this risk because there is no other job, and otherwise they have nothing to live on. And it’s hopeless to have legal proceedings against this power. I am well aware of the situations when there are no violations, and then tax inspectors themselves provoke these violations.

– And it’s the tax inspectors who say: obey the law and you will not have any problems.

– You know, the law can be interpreted in different ways. This way and that. According to one’s interest. It seems that all our laws are in conflict with the state security, because if people are not allowed to work at the time, when the unemployment is rising, then what can you talk about? These are anti-human laws. Everyone knows what a difficult economic situation we are having in the country, so why to increase the pressure? If only these sole traders could work peacefully, they would survive by themselves. Just leave them alone. The regions that are close to the border do survive by themselves (at least, they used to) and they never asked the state for money, which was also an advantage for the budget.

– Then why to put pressure on sole traders?

– The government needs money. Those supervisory authorities do not know where to get the money from, they seem to have some preset plans, too. So they invent new kinds of violations. It has come to a point where the transport police stops a car and fines for giving somebody a lift. It's all wrong, you cannot do that. After all, some people swallow it and some get desperate and end it all.