Belarus President makes new appointments

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko made new appointments on 30 April.

The head of state appointed:

Aleksandr Astreiko - Head of the Department of Internal Affairs of the Minsk Oblast Executive Committee,

Oleg Shulyakovsky - Head of the Department of Internal Affairs of the Brest Oblast Executive Committee,

Dmitry Rezenkov - Head of the Department of Internal Affairs of the Grodno Oblast Executive Committee,

Sergei Gusachenko - First Deputy Chairman of the National State TV and Radio Company,

Dmitry Primshits -  Deputy Chairman of the National State Broadcasting Company.

The president also approved the appointment of:

Yuri Valevatyi – First Vice Governor of Grodno Oblast;

Denis Kurlenko – Minsk Oblast Vice Governor;

Dmitry Zakharchuk – Chairman of the Voronovo District Executive Committee;

Igor Bobyr – Head of the Administration of the Leninsky District of Grodno

Aleksandr Burak – Deputy Chairman of the State Committee for Standardization;

Viktor Savchuk – Consul General of Belarus to Bialystok, Poland;

Aleksei Iglikov - Chairman of the State Control Committee for Gomel Oblast;

Ivan Kurman – Executive Secretary at the Grodno Oblast Executive Committee.

Appointing new police chiefs in Minsk Oblast, Brest Oblast and Grodno Oblast the head of state urged the police to ensure protection of the interests of the Belarusian citizens. “The positions you have been appointed are very important. You will be in charge of three quarters of the country during this difficult situation both inside the country (everything seems calm for the time being, but we cannot let our guard down) and outside. You see what is going on,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko.

State Secretary of the Security Council Aleksandr Volfovich and Interior Affairs Minister Ivan Kubrakov described the new police chiefs as true professionals who have proven their worth in previous posts.

“This is the first time you are taking up such high positions. It is one thing to be a deputy. To be in charge during these challenging times is quite another story. I once said that generals cannot afford to be soft. If you can make decisions in a soft manner, it is fine. However, these decisions should be implemented unquestionably. You are the people in uniform Given the current situation we need to act swiftly to defend the interests of our people. We are not defending ourselves. Protecting millions of people (we are a transit country) is not a child’s play,” the president said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko urged to draw conclusions from the events taking place in the country. According to him, the criminal police have had other problems to deal with in some regions. “For example, one governor let it slip and I began to dig deeper: it turns out that cattle is stolen in some farms and attributed to natural loss. Now you and the prosecutor’s office should look into this. We need to study this topic across the country," the head of state said.

"We must not forget about the mistakes and shortcomings that we had allowed. If we forget them, they will happen again. Therefore, we need to be vigilant," he added.

The president also called on the new police chiefs to keep in touch with people and treat them with respect, and warned against corruption. "It is impossible to hide anything. You understand this better than anyone," Aleksandr Lukashenko warned.

Aleksandr Lukashenko asked the heads of the local authorities about the progress in the spring planting campaign. The current weather conditions, the state of winter crops, and the sowing campaign pace were discussed in detail. The president set the task to accelerate the planting and to complete it by 9 May. “We cannot protract the spring planting campaign. The proverb says: a day feeds a year,” the president said.

He also drew attention to efficient and rational use of agricultural equipment, which must be serviced in time and should not be allowed to stand idle.

While making new appointments, the head of state asked about the social and political situation in the regions. In particular, the matter pertained to the situation in Grodno. The local authorities stressed that the situation was calm.

“I guess those protesters who got there by accident [unauthorized protests in the second half of 2020] have already understood everything,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko. He warned the local authorities to pay special attention to work with people. Everyone should draw appropriate conclusions from what has happened in the country. “We know who is who, who we can work with. We need to pay attention to this,” the president said.