Lukashenko Has Driven Vitebsk Region To The Brink

Although just thirty years ago, it was one of Belarus's main financial donors.

On Tuesday, Alexander Lukashenko suddenly dismissed the head of the Vitebsk Region Alexander Rogozhnik. The official reason was health issues. The dismissal followed Lukashenko’s visit to the region. Rogozhnik lasted only eight months as head of the region, which the authorities have been at a loss about how to handle for years, writes planbmedia.io.

According to Lukashenko’s press service, Rogozhnik’s first deputy, Sergei Levkovich, has become the acting chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee.

“Alexander Rogozhnik has been relieved of his duties as chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee due to illness,” the statement reads.

However, as recently as Saturday, Rogozhnik accompanied Lukashenko during his trip through the Vitebsk region. The regional leader was hardly pleased by the high-ranking official’s visit.

“Swamps all around. The work on this plot is a disgrace. The land hasn’t been plowed. The corn standing in the swamp (referring to the condition of the fields after heavy rainfall—Ed.), I don’t know how you’re going to harvest it. A tractor costs more than that corn you’ll eventually harvest,” Lukashenko said.

When Rogozhnik tried to explain the economic situation, Lukashenko snapped back that he didn’t need any economic explanations. He said he needed money and military discipline. After that, he granted land in the Verkhnedvinsk District to businessman Nikolai Vorobey.

Rogozhnik took office as chairman of the regional executive committee in January. By appointing the former ambassador to Russia and former minister of industry as governor, Lukashenko tasked him with pulling the region out of the hole it had fallen into. Apparently, eight months weren’t quite enough for that. Then again, for some, even thirty years weren’t enough.

“The Vitebsk region is a case in point. For as long as I’ve been working alongside the head of state, the question has been raised about how to bring this region to a level at least slightly above that of the perpetually lagging regions,” — said propagandist Igor Tur on a program that aired on Monday.

For some reason, the question of who brought the region to this state of perpetual backwardness never crossed Igor Tur’s mind. Yet just thirty years ago, the Vitebsk region was one of Belarus’s main financial contributors. But the more often Lukashenko set out to “save” it, the worse things got there.

So it’s no surprise that after eight months in office, the governor’s health has taken a turn for the worse. No amount of good health will be enough to fix the mess that’s been building up for thirty years.

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