What's All The Fuss About, Rygorych?

• Alexei Mazartov, “Belarusians and the Market”
• 8.11.2026, 14:50

How Lukashenko Was Deceived Over the Potash Plant.

“The Nezhin Mining and Processing Plant is a flagship project for the country. It is a very complex project that requires constant attention.” At a meeting on Monday, Alexander Lukashenko sought to understand what was happening with construction of the Nezhin Potash Plant. In fact, nothing good is happening.

The Man with the Mustache

Let me recap the story. Construction of the plant began in 2016; by 2023, they expected to finish it and forget about it. The construction was carried out by a private investor and, incidentally, a close friend of Alexander Lukashenko, Mikhail Gutseriev. He financed the project primarily with Chinese loans, which he secured with guarantees from the Belarusian government.

Then Western sanctions were imposed, and Chinese banks refused to continue financing the construction; however, the Belarusian government was still left holding the debt to the Chinese banks. Gutseriev was ousted from the project, and the plant was nationalized. The 500 million invested by the private investor was, of course, not returned to him.

As a result, they had to finish the construction themselves. On Monday, Alexander Lukashenko held a meeting to discuss the progress of construction at the Nezhinsky Potash Plant.

“Unfortunately, the commissioning of the first and second phases by the set deadline—July 3, 2026—cannot be guaranteed. The government promised to commission these phases by a revised deadline—that is, November 1. Today is precisely the date when we are supposed to hear a report on the results,” Lukashenko said.

Moreover, the first and second phases account for only half of the plant. This is because, after missing the deadlines the first time, it was decided not to build the entire plant at once, but in stages. That is, first launch the first two phases with an annual capacity of one million metric tons, and then, using the proceeds, complete the construction of two more phases with the same capacity.

And the plant was supposed to produce one million metric tons this very year. The government had promised Lukashenko it would report on this. Well, the government reported everything perfectly. Because the Belarusian government knows how to report.

I will report to you

“As of today, I can report that your directive to commission the first- and second-phase facilities of the Nezhin Mining and Processing Plant and bring the complex up to its average daily design capacity—corresponding to an annual output of 1 million metric tons of potash fertilizers— which you issued during your visit on May 23, Year 25, has been fulfilled,” reported Deputy Prime Minister Nikolai Snopkov.

Lukashenko did not immediately understand the passage about the average daily design capacity corresponding to the annual output. Therefore, he asked a clarifying question, in the style of “just tell me, yes or no.”

“Did we get one million metric tons?” he asked.

But Nikolai Snopkov is not the kind of person who can be flustered by follow-up questions. And a good deputy prime minister always has an answer ready for such questions.

“Well, not one million metric tons, but the average daily capacity, which allows us to reach one million metric tons per year,” he explained.

But Lukashenko hadn’t been promised average daily figures. He was promised a specific one million metric tons of specific potash fertilizers from a specific new plant. So he continued to ask leading questions:

“Well, that’s not just one day. As I understand it, we’ll actually get a million metric tons this year, right?”

In other words, Lukashenko was still hoping for the best. You promised, after all. What’s going on? Where’s my million? It turned out his hopes were in vain.

“Five hundred thousand this year. Next year, it’ll definitely be a million,” said Snopkov.

There are some issues

Although, actually, it was supposed to be two million next year. But to be honest, I wasn’t even that confident about the million. Because they haven’t even finished building the plant yet, and there’s already stuff that needs fixing. So it’s no surprise that after Snopkov’s optimistic report, Lukashenko sadly noted:

“In short, Nikolai Gennadievich, just as we’ve lost money at other plants, we’ll be losing heat here too. The pipes aren’t insulated. And there are other issues. They didn’t paint some areas. They didn’t apply anti-corrosion coating. Everything will rust. In two years, they’ll come asking for money.”

Who else would know better than him? Lukashenko does, after all, have experience—the kind everyone would envy—in spending money on megaprojects. But Nikolai Gennadievich is no novice in his field either. He knows how to respond:

“Alexander Grigoryevich, it won’t rust. It’s all working. It’s a technological process. And in any case, it’ll constantly be lubricated, maintained, and kept in good shape.”

I mean, what’s all the fuss about, Rygorych? Don’t panic. Be grateful it’s working at all. And if anything happens, we’ll touch it up and repaint it later. It’s not like a bagel with butter. It’s a technological process—you have to understand that.

All in all, the Nezhin Plant turned out to be a prime example of state-run megaprojects. They started off with high hopes, but then spent years not knowing how to finish it. First they built it, then they wondered who even needed it. They hadn’t even finished building it yet, and it was already time to start repairs.

Alexey Mazartov, “Belarusians and the Market”