What Is Lukashenka’s Protege From Vorsha Notorious For?

Leanid Penkouski pushed Beshankovichy over the edge and went for promotion to Vorsha.

Leanid Penkouski had headed the Beshankovichy district for 9 years before being appointed as Chairman of the Vorsha district executive committee on May 12. The Beshankovichy district is known by the noticeable decrease of its population. Its budget is half-subsidized, belaruspartisan.org writes.

“We are accustomed to the fact that the Belarusian officials are not usually media people — they rarely give interviews (all the attention of the media is focused on Lukasghenka, while his officials remain background artists in these programs), they are not present in the social networks and give few interviews to independent media. However, the new Chairman of the Vorsha district executive committee has outshined even his colleagues in this aspect: there is even no full biography of Leanid Penkouski in the whole internet,” — the website orsha.euwrote about him.

The district newspaper of Beshankovichy reported on its website about the receptions of the executive committee chairman and announced "hot lines", and only a few articles were about the fact that he was awarded the titles "Honored Worker of Agriculture of the Republic of Belarus" and "Person of the Year of Vitsebsk Region". At the same time, Penkouski was instructed to make a speech at the 5th All-Belarusian People's Assembly, where the executive committee’s official talked about the successes of the Beshankovichi district.

On May 15, the head of the presidential administration introduced the new leader of the Vorsha district, the district which became a new project of Lukashenka.

“Leanid Penkouski headed the Beshankovichy district for a long time. This district occupies one of the leading positions in the Vitsebsk region,” — Natallia Kachanava said.

Kachanava's words raise questions, because in the new salary rating, for example, the Beshankovichy district appeared on the second to last place.

This March, there were the following vacancies in the district among others: an electrician with a salary of Bn 250, a methodologist in the center of culture with a salary of Bn 240, a seller with a salary of Bn 350.

The budget of the district is half-subsidized. The total revenue of the local budget for 2017 is projected at Bn 10,1 million. Given the gratuitous receipts from the republican and regional budgets, the revenues will amount to Bn 20,2 million, the local newspaper Zara wrote.

The population of the region is noticeably shrinking. The figures are as follows: according to the results of the 1999 census, there were 23,674 people living in the Beshankovichy district, according to the 2009 census, there are 18,516 people. And at the beginning of last year - only 15 914 people.

According to the official data, 6 educational institutions were closed, another 10 – reorganized, for the period of time since 2010 to 2015. Apparently, it is mainly about schools.

The local newspaper wrote that Penkouski was not very interested in sports and culture, these spheres were poorly funded with him. Thus, the cultural monuments in the Beshankovichy district today are in poor condition, and some have been destroyed during Penkouski's time as a leader. Under Penkouski, a social long-delayed construction appeared in the district - the pool, which began to be built in 2013 and a year later the construction was suspended.

However, during the presidential election of 2015 the district demonstrated a fantastic turnout, as the local vertivcal did their best. The turnout in the Beshankovichy district was 99,2%. Allegedly, only 99 voters did not vote here.

Appointing Penkouski as a Chairman of the Virsha district executive committee, Lukashenka instructed him to restore the "iron order" and in the near future raise the district "from ruins and ashes", and at the same time "raise the spirit of the people" by sports events.

Important to note, it has been reported that the law-enforcement agencies took interest to Leanid Penkouski, already as a Chairman of Vorsha District Executive Committee. In particular, it has been reported that they did it without Lukashenka’s sanction, which outraged the dictator.