Dictator starts constructing a new palace for himself

Construction of a pretentious palace, called a presidential residence, has started in Minsk on Winners Avenue.

This happens at the time when most soft home loan programmes for low-income persons were closed and Lukashenka declared that Minsk residents should build houses for their own cost.

According to “Belorusski Partizan”, the building was designed by Minskproekt unitary enterprise. The construction close to Belexpo expo complex began in spring, amid financial and economic crisis. The conduction project is estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars. Perhaps, it is this construction that Lukashenka is going to spend the first tranche of EurAsEC loan on. Finishing will undoubtedly require costly imported materials that will be bought abroad, of course, for foreign currency.

Under the project, Belexpo complex will be a part of the residence carrying out supplementary functions. The project, approved by Lukashenka personally, provides for all possible recreation facilities for the main Belarusian billionaire: a swimming pool, a sauna, a gym, everything, except maybe an ice hockey rink. By the way, after Lukashenka’s recent trip to Turkmenistan, the design documentation was urgently amended. On his order, a wine cellar will be constructed in the basement.

At the same time, ordinary Belarusians hear appeals to “tighten belts”, “cut their spending” and “live within their means”. In an attempt to save foreign currency, many imported goods and products disappeared from shops, but a few remaining cost too much for an average Belarusian.

A lot of Belarusian families have found themselves in stalemate after soft housing loans were cancelled. They signed a contract on shared construction and some of them even paid the initial installment hoping to pay the rest of the sum from a loan on easy terms, because most Belarusians cannot afford commercial loans.