Nothing Worth Paying Attention To

Belarus simply has a new Prime Minister and a new government.

That is, such meetings are accompanied with discussions of leaky roofs, intimidations of officials, habitual promises to send everyone to prisons. This time he has threatened Minister of Industry Vital Vouk with work at the Orsha Instrumental Plant: "He can either go to prison or to work here." It is still not known whether Vouk goes to work at the Orsha plant, but he was dismissed on Saturday.

Minister of Economy, Minister of Architecture and Construction, Minister of Information were also dismissed. As well as the entire leadership. Siarhei Rumas, previously the lead of the Bank of Development, took the place of Prime Minister Andrei Kabyakau. Aliaksandr Turchin is appointed the First Deputy Chairman of the Government. He used to run the Council of Ministers. Former head of Belneftekhim Ihar Lyashenka became Vice Prime Minster, as well as former Ambassador of Belarus in Russia Mikalai Petryshenka and Deputy Chairman of State Control Uladzimir Kukharau.

In general, nothing significant has occurred bot for the country and people. There is one simple reason - the old deck has been shuffled.

Once Siarhei Rumas was in the government - he was Vice Prime Minister in January 2010 and headed the economic sector. A year later economic crisis started in Belarus, the national currency depreciated threefold, people were standing in longest queues to buy foreign currency, Aliaksandr Lukashenka accused Rumas of failure in the economic policy of the state: "Soon we will go to shops the way we go to museums. We will not, but most citizens will go there to look at the market economy of Myasnikovich-Rumas (Mikhail Myasnikovich is then Prime Minister of Belarus - editor's note).

First Deputy Prime Minister Aliaksandr Turchin ran District and later Regional Executive Committees. Petryshenka is a former officer, who occupied different positions in the Council of Ministers in the 90s, and then worked as a diplomat.

Kukharau spent almost twenty years in the structures of the State Control. Lyshenka is a former director of the Gomel Chemical Plant; in 2013 he went to Belneftekhim. The age of new leadership varies from 43 to 53 years. That is, new nomenclature is breed up and trained by Lukashenka. There is no other way to build a public career in Belarus but to obey and understand that the ruler hates reforms and any changes the most, and also to be ready to work under such conditions.

But if you accept it, you can relax and enjoy your career.

It is like in former USSR - you fail in agriculture, you can be appointed the Minister of Culture. If you fail with construction, you can become an ambassador.

Such a scandalous phrase "changes in the government" does not mean a thing. From time to time Aliaksandr Lukashenka made some shifts there - with a foul language broadcast live -, as it serves as a great TV show.

For a while people discuss it, no resignations occur. People discuss words Lukashenka used against this or that official. To be more precise, it used to be like that. Really, for a while people distracted from growing prices, low salaries, and there were some who believed that "officials are bad". Now it does not work anymore, but Aliaksandr Ryhoravich has made it a habit for twenty four years.

There is one more sign. If law enforcement officers retain their positions, Aliaksandr Lukashenka is satisfied.

Iryna Khalip, Novaya Gazeta