Anatol Sakharusha: Belarusian Village Is Almost Dead

Officials have put people off working on land.

Belarusians are afraid not only of the coronavirus, but also of the Belarusian official. The dying out villages are a sad picture for the country. And they are dying quietly because of the mediocre and unenterprising bureaucracy. Any official or leader takes care of his pocket in the first place. The village and agro-towns have not survived, Radio Racyja reports.

If you consider it a good thing that they have put people off working on land, it's their 100% success, - Anatol Sakharusha, a resident of the agro-town of Kabaki, says:

- If we compare what was in the village, how many young people there used to be, then today it has not only changed, but practically ceased to exist. In the sense that only the old people stay, none of the young people. Only those who graduated from school, studied for a tractor driver and kept a low profile, and those who liked to drink "thunderbird".

According to Sakharusha, farming and private land ownership could save the village and agriculture. Subsidized collective and state farms are only needed for the benefit of the official and the head of the collective farm. It is this type of property that allows them make money off using cheap labour of village slaves.