They Will Treat You As Well

• Konstantin Skuratovich
• 1.04.2021, 14:31

The principles remained, but the possibilities for their implementation almost nullified.

Officials adore making aphoristic statements about the advantages of the Belarusian model of socio-economic development in comparison with others operating in other countries of the world. They talk about everything, but mainly about agriculture. Whether we are talking about football and hockey, symphonic music or public transport, the question about the yield prospects under the existing weather conditions, milk yields and egg-laying qualities of hens appear out of nowhere.

Let's take a recent but not exceptional episode that took place during Lukashenka's visit to a dairy complex and dairy processing enterprise in the Hrodna region. Of course, Lukashenka intentionally spoke about agriculture. However, it was the only thing that he could say to his people at the moment. The present governor of the region, a doctor and a candidate of medical sciences Uladzimir Karanik, who used to be the Minister of Health, reported the successes in the territory he was heading.

He quoted the statistical reference from Belstat. Given all obstacles of 2020, the reference says the region managed to fulfil "all orders" of the Supreme Ruler. Both in terms of production of a gross regional product, wages, export-import and foreign investment. Agriculture was especially prominent, providing growth of almost 8% against 2019. It turned out that agriculture made it possible to fulfil the "mission" of regional product production. Agriculture's mandatory option.

Lukashenka favourably agreed with Karanik's report and made several remarks. Most importantly, he urged Hrodna bosses that "processors must not offend peasants in terms of price" when purchasing the produced goods. He says that if one offends the peasants, one will not forgive you. Valery Shumel, chairman of the joint venture, who took the side of the peasants, assured the distinguished guest that everything would be fine. His enterprise is the leader in the district and region. Its financial condition constantly improves, the sales income, net profit and average monthly salary, which reached BYN1350 last year, grow.

The governor came to the rescue of the chairman. It turned out that the doctor and candidate of medical sciences is also an expert in agriculture. He told the audience (including Lukashenka) that crop production in the region ensured sustainable development of the livestock complex. Moreover, the growth in milk yields has nothing o do with an increase in the milking herd. According to him, "a higher result has been achieved through increased productivity and implementation of modern technologies at dairy complexes". Accordingly, the net profit of agricultural enterprises has grown several times. That is, right now, the cherished dream of the chief agrarian of the transition of agricultural enterprises to self-financing is being realized before the eyes of grateful contemporaries. It was Gorbachev's dream. It was for a reason that Lukashenka visited agrarian meetings in Moscow to discuss all kinds of Perestroika innovations, which the whole world abandoned a long time ago.

In particular, the problem of self-financing with its principles of self-government of the enterprise, self-sufficiency. Although, these principles are valid only in a market economy. Its subjects are private enterprises, oriented to commercial calculation. It is how the independence of enterprises in providing themselves with money and freedom in its use is ensured. There are new incentives to work.

In our country, there is a strict taboo on all this "self-activity". However, this is the reason why no one can offend the Belarusian peasants any more - neither the main agrarian, nor the government, nor the suppliers, nor the processors. The reason is primitive - the peasant class in our country has been finally liquidated under Lukashenka. His reforms, which seem ended up with only a change of "shields", liquidated all independence of the former collective farms. Now, neither workers nor enterprise managers are in charge, but the top state management. In this case, Karanik and Lukashenka sang the fable of the rooster and the cuckoo.

Karanik argued that large milk yields required staff, fodder, and cows. One could hardly deliberately force the former top medical official of the country to voice such truisms... Matvey Morozov, the character of It Happened in Penkovo, made fun of the lecturer of the Knowledge Society, who gave a lecture in the village on behalf of the district party committee. The tractor driver parodied the scientist: "So, we have established that there can be a cow without milk... but there can't be milk.... without what, comrades? without a cow! Thus, milk is a true sign of...what, comrades?...? That's right! Cows!"

The film was released in the early thaw, when "collective farm democracy" was being revived in village life, no matter how clumsy it might have been. The board and the party-state nomenclature ran the household and had to put up with the most unexpected demands of the general meeting of the artel. Fleeing the peasant irony of the party's agrarian policy, the nomenclature had to set a palace coup and resign the increasingly talkative chief agrarian of the country.

Now, the principles have remained, but the possibilities of their implementation have nullified. That is, everyone used to realize that neither the Party nor his first secretary Khrushchev had anything to do with milk and meat production, but they taught peasants how to work better and more efficiently than American farmers did. Those farmers had high corn yields, and the same had to be in the northern collective farms. In the end, Khrushchev lost his power, while we have no chance. Therefore, the so-called governors, even the most educated and intelligent ones, have to play the ruler's words on repeat.

Having read Mark Twain's feuilleton "How I Edited an Agricultural Newspaper", anyone can see why so many officials talk about agriculture, why any minister after resignation becomes a whale in agriculture. The moral is quite clear: every dignitary in Belarus may manage any sphere of economy and social life without understanding anything about it. Nevertheless, he will do everything as required.

Konstantin Skuratovich, Nashe Mneniye