Aleksandr Lukashenko visits Mogilev State University 

President of the Republic of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko believes that in order to preserve the Belarusian nation and sovereignty the country needs to follow its own way. We should be patiently building the state to improve the standard of living of Belarusians and their children, the head of state said as he visited the MogilevStateUniversity named after A.A.Kuleshov on 17 October.

The head of state touched upon a wide range of issues, such as foreign policy, relations with other countries, development of Belarus’ economy, history of Belarus, its independence and sovereignty, demographic problems, attitude to work and education.

Aleksandr Lukashenko remarked that at the meeting he would like to discuss goals and prospects of Belarus’ development in the context of modern civilization: “What is Belarus and what role does it play in the modern world? What have we gained and what have we lost? What is our Belarusian way and where will we go next?”

The President invited students to speak their minds about such a complicated and multifaceted topic.

In his speech the head of state remarked that the mankind is living through a global shift of civilizations. The laws of social relations and moral standards that once looked unshakable gradually lose their power. “The information revolution has disintegrated all the space and time barriers. Economic processes across the globe reached a supranational level a long time ago. The man now can reproduce the greatest of all secrets – the birth of life – and can clone living beings,” the President said.

The globalization of manufacturing and capital entails very serious transformations in the spiritual sphere. “We see centuries of moral foundations gradually crumble. We see moral anomalies become standards. National and cultural differences between nations disappear. A global English-language neoculture based on American standards and examples is born,” the head of state noted.

“The question most often asked today is whether sovereign states, individual nations and peoples will be able to survive for a long time in the modern world or whether they will have to become a thing of the past?” the President added.

Aleksandr Lukashenko remarked that the road of the Belarusians towards statehood had been long. “The independent state of our own gives us freedom and freedom is what every person and every nation strives for, freedom to live in our own God-given land, freedom to choose our own way, freedom to honor our own traditions, our past, freedom to control our present and build our future,” the head of state said.

“Many believe that being free means being able to go out and do whatever they want. However, your freedom ends when it clashes with the interests of other people,” the head of state said. “Do not accept that definition of freedom that is often imposed on us. I am talking about a broader meaning of the word,” the President said. “Freedom does not mean chaos; it is a peaceful and quiet life and social order. I want freedom to be defined that way. Freedom is not about being able or not able to say something. You can say whatever you want! But try to hear other people, learn from their experience, especially, that of the elder generation,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

The President added that he would like the young generation not to make the same mistakes as their parents did, but learn from their experience and follow their own way living their life to the fullest.

Aleksandr Lukashenko pointed out that “even in the so-called united Europe the desire of nations to attain self-determination has not waned”. As an example he mentioned Scotland, Belgium, and Spanish Catalonia. “Virtually no European country is satisfied with results of the construction of the common European home, which, as everyone knows, is bursting at the seams,” the President said.

“This is why from the point of view of individual nations and sovereign states I may call myself a historical optimist,” Aleksandr Lukashenko remarked. “Despite all kinds of globalization the notions of Motherland, Fatherland, the independence of one’s own land is still strong from my point of view,” he added.

“Belarus has existed at the crossroads of Eastern and Western traditions for centuries and has accumulated unique spiritual experience. Our national idea is peace, accord, mutual aid in our large united family named the Belarusian people. We are accustomed to earning our living in our own land. We are kind-hearted to everyone, who lives alongside us and who comes with peace,” the President stressed.