Belarusian President makes personnel decisions

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko appointed new aides to the President – inspectors for Gomel Oblast, Mogilev Oblast and Minsk on 8 July.

Yuri Valevaty has been appointed Aide to the Belarusian President – Inspector for Gomel Oblast. Until now, he served as First Deputy Chairman of the Grodno Oblast Executive Committee.

Nadezhda Kotkovets has been appointed Aide to the Belarusian President – Inspector for Mogilev Oblast.

Dmitry Reutsky has become Aide to the Belarusian President – Inspector for Minsk.

Aleksandr Lukashenko addressed the appointees with parting words. “I want to warn all aides, and it is also useful for district executive committee chairmen to hear this. I do not want any conflicts between the aide and the governor. Both of them are my children, figuratively speaking,” the head of state said.

At the same time, he emphasized that this does not mean that the President’s aides should follow any order of the heads of regional executive committees. “Yes, you must help. You will be responsible for the development of the situation in the region. But you must have your own point of view. You are personnel inspectors. Personnel decide everything, as the saying goes. If there is a good leader, then the work will move forward. Therefore, I will evaluate your work through the personnel you will supervise on the ground,” Aleksandr Lukashenko noted.

“I will not tell you how you should work. You are experienced people. But I have one requirement, given that you are being appointed to key positions. You are the face of the President on the ground. I ask you to keep this in mind,” the Belarusian leader emphasized.

“We must protect our country from cataclysms and wars so that we can calmly and quietly do our work. So that Belarus continues to develop at the current pace. So that it remains a beautiful, comfortable place for our people to live. We have everything,” the head of state said.

When making personnel decisions regarding the President’s aides in the regions and the chairmen of district executive committees, Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that they will also have to deal with the tasks facing the country in general: “I am talking to you about the economy, about organizing your work, but do not forget that you are also politicians there, on the ground. There are no district party committees, unfortunately. I already feel this lack today. Back then [in Soviet times] there was a lot of nonsense, but the party bodies monitored what was happening. And look: China adopted our system. It is developing properly because the system works. Nobody there engages in empty bravado.”

“I know that after this remark they will start criticizing me, saying that we are following in China’s footsteps. Unfortunately, we have lost that path, I recently told Xi Jinping this. We are unlikely to follow in China’s footsteps now, even if we want to,” the head of state stated.

“But the tasks will be very serious. Both political ones and the very urgent task of ensuring the safety of our people, especially in the south. I must say that [Gomel Oblast Governor] Ivan Ivanovich Krupko is doing well in this regard. Brest Oblast is not shying away from these issues either. Not to mention Grodno Oblast, where a general is in command [referring to Grodno Oblast Governor Yuri Karayev]. So you will have to deal with these matters as well. That is our life,” the President said.