A Tragicomic Episode From The Meeting Between Lukashenko And The Chief "Tent-Builder"

The dictator moved on to a topic that was much more interesting to him.

On Monday, September 7, the Belarusian prime minister hosted a briefing by the chairman of the “House of Representatives” Igor Sergeenko. During their conversation, an episode unfolded that was both funny and sad.

After stating that he saw “no particular cause for concern” in the parliament’s work, Lukashenko moved on to a topic that was far more interesting to him:


— You’re very involved with Natalia Ivanovna Kochanova in the Vitebsk region. I’ve been informed that you have a collective farm there, and that you and she are both responsible for it. That’s exactly right. Whether you provide financial assistance or not—that’s not the main issue. But the fact that you recognize the problem and can make timely adjustments and corrections where needed—that’s definitely… I find this experience interesting. Please invite me; I’d be delighted to visit the farm you oversee.

For those who didn’t know, the speaker of the lower house of parliament is now saving a collective farm called OAO “Knyazh” in one of the country’s most economically depressed regions—the Sharkovshchinsky District.

After his report to the governor, Sergeenko briefed representatives of the state media:

— “The President” was interested in my personal approach to managing the farm, which I was tasked with overseeing personally. My colleagues and I have actively engaged in this work. Not only by visiting the site, but also by providing concrete assistance in strengthening the material and technical base, revitalizing the land, and restoring basic order on the farms. I hope that within two years we will fundamentally change the situation.

It is telling that Lukashenko and Sergeenko did not even attempt to pretend that in modern Belarus the “parliament” plays any role (nor does its “speaker”). Yet in democratic countries, it is an independent branch of government.

The head of the lower “chamber of parliament” makes no secret of the fact that he is concerned not with passing laws necessary for society, but with just one of hundreds of unprofitable collective farms.

Andrei Karas, “Solidarnast”

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