Meeting with Leonid Zayats, Mikhail Rusy

Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko met with Leonid Zayats and Mikhail Rusy on 1 April.

The head of state explained the reasons these officials had recently lost their jobs as the agriculture and food minister and the deputy prime minister. Aleksandr Lukashenko reminded that they had been personally responsible for everything going on in Belarusian agriculture. “Starting with my specific instructions regarding certain crops – flax, colza, and other ones – and ending with agricultural technologies and merchandise export to other markets,” the President said. “I would like to ask you once again not to think the changes were unexpectedly prompted by some cow farm in Slizhi. There are people in charge of farms and they should have seen to them. They are doing it now. It is primarily up to the head of the agricultural enterprise and the head of the district administration to do it.”

Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “This is why don’t think that the mess in cow farms and vehicle depots in [the agricultural holding company] Kupalovskoye [in Shklov District] resulted in the dismissal of the two officials.”

Aleksandr Lukashenko made it clear he wanted technologies followed to the letter. “I’ve been warning you, particularly you, Leonid Konstantinovich [Zayats], you don’t have to talk to anyone. Everybody speaks too much but does little. You failed to take into account this factor. The same applies to the deputy prime minister, who was responsible for Mogilev Oblast.”

Aleksandr Lukashenko said he had invited Mikhail Rusy and Leonid Zayats to announce the decision he had made. Leonid Zayats will work as the chairman of the Mogilev Oblast Executive Committee while Mikhail Rusy will work as the Belarus President’s aide, inspector for Mogilev Oblast. The decisions are supposed to be formalized soon. “You two are to go to Mogilev Oblast, enforce iron order over there, and report back to me. I am going to visit Mogilev Oblast every month. I will try to help out as much as I can. But first of all you will have to make sure the spring sowing campaign gets done in line with the technology. If you have to introduce martial law in Mogilev Oblast the way it has been done in OAO Kupalovskoye, go ahead and do it.”

According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, organizing agricultural work in line with the technology is the key thing. “Make them, teach them to follow the technology. Mogilev Oblast cannot lag behind with the soils it has. Those are beautiful soils.”

“You will have to obey my order as citizens of Belarus. Use any legal methods, any legal means to enforce order over there and prove that you are dedicated to technology and are true men,” the head of state concluded.