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Belarus Initiates Large-Scale Prokopovich-Style Devaluation?

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Belarus Initiates Large-Scale Prokopovich-Style Devaluation?

Lukashenka and propaganda started talking about the "usefulness" of the ruble devaluation.

For several days now, Belarusian propagandists have been repeating after Lukashenka that the ruble devaluation helped "save" Belarusian agriculture. Such narratives coincided with the rumors about the possible devaluation in Russia. The Belarusian ruble today is de facto pegged to the Russian one, Nasha Niva writes.

On August 19, Lukashenka visited agricultural workers and shared secrets of "success" in the Belarusian agriculture.

"We went through two five-year revival of the village. When we were planning the first five-year plan in that terrible poverty, I remember two people.

Aliaksandr Andreevich Popkov, he was then, I think, Deputy Prime Minister, and Peter Petrovich Prokopovich, who was chairman of the National Bank.

These people were one on the right and one on the left. They developed a five-year plan for the "revival" of the village.

They specified the criteria. It must not be private farms.

We must preserve state and collective farms. Nowadays, we realize we were right, when we created enlarged agricultural enterprises. We started at that time in the east with Alexandriysky, and here Petr Petrovich began. These two farms were the first to be built. They are small, we enlarged them gradually. We see they are doing well.

At that time of poverty, we decided to pay back to the people. And there was no money. Where did we get it?

You remember the rampant inflation and devaluation of our currency. I can honestly say today that I gave an order to the chairman of the National Bank Petr Petrovich Prokopovich at that time: we will print if it's not enough.

Not saying anything, we printed money. We used it for agricultural projects," said the politician.

Lukashenka did not say a word about the negative impact of the devaluation on other sectors of the Belarusian economy and the catastrophic impoverishment of citizens who kept their savings in the national currency.

Following Lukashenka, propagandists also started praising the devaluation.

Here is what Igor Tur said on the air of ONT:

- I remember Prokopovich's devaluation very well.

(...) Having strengthened the agrarian skeleton by a painful devaluation, we got an opportunity to develop the body of the Belarusian economy. We would not have a strong industry today, a chemical complex or even a trendy IT sphere without that devaluation held for the sake of the agrarian sector. If we suddenly lose agriculture, it would not be just about it. Then the entire economy would simply shrink. The body cannot live without a skeleton.

Nikolai Shchekin, the Academy of Sciences, put his two cents in.

"Lukashenka has taken unprecedented steps to "restore" agriculture, including devaluation," he said.

"Lukashenka took full responsibility and allowed a certain devaluation, understanding the burden the country would bear. There was no other way out. (...) Indeed, people like Aliaksandr Popkov and Petr Prokopovich acted as a motor to implement the program for the revival and development of the village," said Shchekin.

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