Stanislau Shushkevich: The Situation in the Country Is Acute, There Will Be a Riot

Pensioners and authorities.

The financial company Blacktower Group has compiled a rating of European countries for retirement. Belarus is in the last place on this list, making it the worst country in Europe for retirees. Charter97.org asked the first leader of independent Belarus Stanislau Shushkevich to evaluate the results of this rating:

- I unequivocally agree with these conclusions, but you need to understand that there are two categories of pensioners in Belarus: the bureaucratic elite, the general's elite, which came to power, and everyone else. The authorities carefully conceal the size of pensions because this elite has completely different retirement incomes, while everyone else has scanty incomes.

It turns out that everyone needs to work on the farm, plant and harvest, store for the winter. Those who are still capable, and those who are not have a miserable existence. The Commission did the right thing by recognizing our pension system as the worst in Europe.

- How do Belarusian pensioners live today? Can their fate be called survival?

- You know, I know many examples, but I would not like to touch people's personal lives. I will say this: the population lives in poverty, better than after the war, but very, very bad. Especially compared to Estonia, Poland, Latvia, and other countries. It is impossible to compare our meager pensions with the countries of the European Union.

- Real pensions in Belarus have been falling for the third month in a row. Inflation is called one of the reasons. How much inflation are you feeling today?

- My wife feels it strongly: over the past three months, food prices have doubled.

- In general, how have the real opportunities of pensioners and Belarusian families decreased in connection with the aggravation of the economic crisis in the country?

- The situation is so acute that there that it can't become more aggravated. Then a riot will begin. Lukashenka goes to Putin to beg for all sorts of money to close the holes in the budget, but only these finances will be used to feed some, and the rest will receive useless pensions. The number of "fed" in Belarus is small, but the authorities are on their side.

You see, in our country, there is such a situation that a highly qualified specialist receives as much as a miserable AMAP recruit, and he is actually engaged in banditry. This includes searches, detentions, and torture. I would like to note that all these facts of arbitrariness have been recorded, there is a structure that is engaged in this activity, but I will not give it away.

- Can we expect Lukashenka to give up the Belarusian flagship enterprises in order to have money for pensions?

- Lukashenka will give everything to preserve his power. He does this gradually over the years. He has no principles, he is an anti-Belarusian ruler.

Recently, the Prosecutor General said that we are fleeing from the brown plague, allegedly from Nazism, but there are no signs of this in the Belarusian society. This can only speak of illiteracy, thoughtlessness, or complete submission to some ideology. See how our native Belarusian language is despised. There is no huge number of documents in Belarusian, although we have the equality of the two languages.

- Belarusian pensioners, who were previously considered the backbone of Lukashenka's electorate, actively marched in the summer and fall of 2020 and continue to participate in “partisan” rallies. What has changed in the sentiments of the older generation of Belarusians?

- The older generation realized that this is a lie that needs to be resisted. They are smart people. Since the pensioners came out, it means that they are against this system, and it is necessary to change the government, which falsifies elections and is supported by lies. We have an illegitimate ruler, that's clear enough.

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