Good Life

It's arithmetic for the National Social Secutiry Fund (NSSF).

A friend of my told me how she watched magnificent fireworks of May 9, which was so loud that windows could nearly creak: "As soon as the first fireworks were displayd, I though - oh, pensions will grow high! And now it's turn for salaries. And the other fireworks mean the new equipment for hospitals." It was the things I was thing about. Looking in the mirror, my son wondered: "Do they have a budget for schools and hospitals?"

In general, it's a good life. We live a gilded life, as they used to say. Fireworks, bike-shows, parades, company parties for "Whire Russia", houses for every district head. And, of course, the tireless care of the people. And here the Ministry of Finance reports that last year other 9 thousand Belarusians got a social pension equaled to the half of the minimum subsistence level. And now the state support 71 thousand of former spongers, who failed with the pension insurance record.

Minister of Labour and Social Protection Kastsevich (the very person who is now building a new house which is better than Shchetkina's) also gives lesson to Belarusians: When I take personal reception of citizens, I often meet people who have failed with the pension insurance record, they get a small social pension and wonder: "How is it possible to live on this money?" Official employment gives you a safety cusion in old age." Just listen to it. It creates thesafety cusion for the Belarusians. If the Minister of Labour and, please notice, Social Protection says it and does not run away in panic being scared of batons behind her back, then, perhaps, stop the world I'm getting off , because everything is really wrong here. Everything’s as wrong as it could be. This is not even hypocrisy, not a lie, not propaganda, not manipulation, it's just bitchery.

Even ministries can count to one hundred. So, let's count. Let's take 9 thousand "social pensioners", which last year got their half of the minimum subsistence level. The state turned to them, because men were 65 years old and women were 60. That is, men were born in 1952, and women in 1957 respectively. It means they started working in the 70s. And I remind you, it was the time when the bright communist future was built. At that, "the safety cushion for old age" was collected by all Soviet citizens and they surely kept the money in a savings bank, according to the order of the Party. Every saved penny they brought to the savings bank. Their savings-bank books were even more important than their own passports. And what did happen to those "safety cushions"? What did happen to those people when enterprises closed down en mass, and those which officially operated had arrears in waged of many months? And they were likely involved in individual wholesale trade. Or worked for numerous AO, ZAO, OOO, which left no trace in archives. So they did their best to survive. .

And if they failed with their insurance record in Soviet times, it means there were some reasons, but not unwillingness to work. I would like to remind you that there was no choice in the Soviet Union: either you build communism or go to prison for parasitism. So people worked as watchmen or stokers. So we do not know what happened to that nine thousand. They might be in prisons. And then they were a tramp, it was easy to evict a person then. Women could follow their military husbands who changed their workplace. Or to take care of the disabled. Everything's possible, anyway, it means nine thousand bad life stories. And there are 71 thousand of them across the country. And the rest 62 thousand are even older, and could face even greater challenges.

By the way, there is a pointing figure: last year 3700 Belarusians were denied pensions. It turns out that almost 75 thousand people are announced spongers and deprived of pensions by the state. And if we deal with figures today, let's count a bit. Several times I already told the story of Anna Strotseva, who was denied pension for lack of pension insurance record (only 11.5 years amid 30 years of working experience); three maternal leaves, years of study, and many years of care for her disabled mother were wasted. Let's continue. All right, give Anna a chance. Let there be 10 years of the pension insurance record for each of this 75 thousand. Insurance premium payments equal to 35% of earnings. What is an average salary? They say that last year it amounted to $415. And it was $61 in the year of 1991. I was keen on finding out these figures over the past 19 years. That is, the average salary over this period is $235. (It is possible to fill this safety cushion with swan's down and to embroidered it with a golden thread). Mandatory 35 per cent is $82.25. It makes $987 per year. Ten years is almost ten thousand dollars.

And where is the pension then? Get it back to a citizen, and let him live as he wants. 75 thousand people are either deprived of pensions or get a social one. It turns to be a great sum for them. Let's consider that some have less work experience. Although, salaries also differed, so far, deductions were different as well. So everything is clear with figures. And where is the money? Who did steal it? And what was it spent for?

The answer is so evident that ther's no need to pose a question. Those who now teach Belarusians how "to work at three jobs" and to create the safety cushion for old age. Those who harvest watermelons in Drazdy and stand like cast iron morons on parades. Those who evict children from schools to repair it before "Dazhynki" or send them to collect potatoes instead of studying. And it is spent on cozy houses for district heads of NSSF, on expensive repair of offices in ministries and Executive Committees, on biker clothes of Shchetkina and marshal uniform of Kolya Lukashenka, on parades and fireworks, on lush life of punishers and propagandists, on houses and guards for rabbles, on destruction of the opposition and Trade Unions. On cold-blooded destruction of our beloved country we could live happily ever after.

Iryna Khalip, specially for Charter97.org