Who unmasks dictator

The dictator can lie to the TV, but not to wallets of Belarusians.

"The spring will come and we will sort it out!" – do you remember that exactly with these words Aliaksandr Lukashenka addressed citizens a year ago on February 23, 2016, standing at the Eternal Flame? The spring has come... and then summer... and then autumn... winter... Seasons change and only the problems remain eternal, like that fire.

Alas, no miracle has happened. Our meager salaries didn't bloom under the spring sun, and moreover, the citizens started to withdraw their money from the bank accounts in the autumn – a kind of an "Autumn Marathon" to feed their families. Even shop owners recognize that Belarusians do not buy meat any more today and " have switched to chickens and bones." Last spring we also have not heard the cheerful warbles of the modernized enterprise and high-sounding business projects. But by the autumn it became clear that economic courts can not cope with the number of cases of bankruptcy (one business day of a court= 10 new bankrupts), a record number of employees has been fired from enterprises and arrears of industrial enterprises continues to grow.

But all year round we hear harmonious trills of our authorities sounding from all sides, urging Belarusians "to move", "to tighten up", and even "not to gorge". And also that the happiness is coming soon, as well as the economic growth and the overall growth. Yes, we remember: "Spring will come ...".

Such kind of cycle of commitments. A sort of a fairy tale about the 12 months.

But there is one evil character in this tale, which hinders Lukashenka to rule this fantastic kingdom. It's our wallet. Because one can talk about the growth of the economy on the television and build fantastic plans, but it's the wallet which tells the people the truth about the state of affairs better than any evil expert.

A pensioner, who was "favored" with another increase in pensions, will looking in his wallet and assess this "growth", when prices again did not fit in his budget. A worker, whom the TV told about the large-scale modernization of his enterprise, will be able to feel all the "global economic breakthrough" through the same wallet when he puts his monthly salary, which is more like unemployment benefits, in there.

By the way, the National Statistical Committee has recently proven these subjective feelings. It informed that the real incomes of the population have decreased by 7.3% by the end of 2016 if compared to 2015, which is the strongest decline over the decade.

Our wallet is the main indicator of capacity of the Belarusian economic model! It is the main reference point for checking the correctness of the chosen course! And no matter how many fabulous promises Lukashenka distributes, only the wallet will let us understand, how soon this fairy tale will come true.

Svetlana Metelkina, Salidarnasts