Lukashenko: my goal, as before, is to preserve the village. There will be no village — there will be no state.
The President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, emphasizes the relevance of preserving and developing rural territories and production. He stated this at a meeting in Vitebsk, reports a BELTA correspondent.
"You have probably noticed, and not only you, but also our enemies and opponents, that I have been visiting the countryside very often lately. If anyone thinks that this is related to production, the agro-industrial complex, our collective farms, state farms, and farms, they are only half right. I am not as concerned about agricultural production as I was in the mid-90s," said the head of state. "The most important reason why I am constantly wandering around fields and farms is that, as before, my goal — I would very much like to hope that it is also yours — is to save the village, to preserve the village. If there is no village, there will be no state. We will be doomed."
Alexander Lukashenko reminded that over the past 15 years, numerous initiatives have been implemented — clean fields and the "VitAgro" program of Alexander Kosinets (who headed the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee from 2008 to 2014), the Orsha "offshore" and integration associations in the agro-industrial complex of Nikolai Shershnev (who headed the executive committee from 2014 to 2021).
The current chairman of the executive committee, Alexander Subbotin, has been in office for 4 years. "A full Olympic cycle, to speak in sports terms. This is a period more than sufficient to demonstrate your management talents and ensure results," noted the head of state. "It is time to summarize the development of Vitebsk region, identify systemic shortcomings, and develop solutions that will help the region radically improve the situation in problematic sectors."
On the positive aspects in the region and the "but" from the President
"Of course, I am far from thinking that everything is absolutely bad for you. That I started with the bad — in a familiar way, we gathered for this, not to boast to each other," said the President.
Experts inform the head of state that there are also positive aspects. For example, the current growth of the population's income. However, Alexander Lukashenko noted that this does not correlate with the decline in production in the region from an economic point of view. "Isn't that a question? People's incomes are rising, but Vitebsk region is below the knee..." — he remarked.
Lukashenko on Vitebsk region: a clear plan for the real revival of the region is needed
In addition, among the positives is the increase in exports of certain goods. "This is already good, but only for certain ones. Export is a very serious problem for us now," noted the head of state.
Housing provision in Vitebsk region is higher than in the country — more than 30 sq.m per person. "Well, what kind of achievement is that? If you are working poorly, but your housing and salary are more or less okay. Not a good match," remarked the Belarusian leader.
In the current five-year period, 103 production investment projects worth over Br2 billion have been implemented in the region. The pharmaceutical industry is actively developing (unique productions are being built), as well as the production of electrical equipment and petrochemicals.
On examples of "resourcefulness" and lack of stability in the economy
In the development of the region, there are also many negative aspects and shortcomings, which the head of state pointed out. Thus, the potential of the forestry complex and tourism is hardly utilized even at 20%. And this should be the main income in the region.
Alexander Lukashenko noted that in the same Arab countries — partners of Belarus, there is interest in visiting Belarus for tourism purposes, to relax in the forest and by the lakes. In the same Emirates, the head of state gave an example, significant income is now received not from oil, but from tourism. And in Vitebsk region, in this regard, there is potential, the Belarusian leader is confident.
"A fresh example of your 'resourcefulness': if it were not for Oman's interest in building a second pulp mill in Belarus and choosing a location in Vitebsk region, you would have remained the only region in the country without large woodworking enterprises," said the President.
He noted that after the "modernization named after Kosinets — Semashko," the last enterprise OJSC "Vitebskdrev" was stopped in February 2025 with large debts. The Postavy furniture center is also not developing much. "It turns out that with such forest cover, the region has lost all its own competencies and has essentially become a raw material appendage of other regions. If it has become," the head of state stated.
"These examples indicate that there is no stability in the region's economy. If people are leaving, as I mentioned earlier, it means that the level of wages and competitive jobs is insufficient. You have not figured out the labor force at all, — concluded Alexander Lukashenko. — You know everything, you can do everything. You are just irresponsible people. You need to sort out each farm with the people."
On state support and thoughts that need to be thrown out of your head
"Over the past 4 years, organizations in the region have used state support 1285 times! In fact, every day someone was allocated funds from the budget. Therefore, you cannot blame that someone did not hear you or did not help," the head of state cited a fact.
"Therefore, it is a colossal mistake to think that the President came to you and will once again 'write off' everything. I want to repeat to everyone sitting in the hall — from the director of the enterprise to state officials: throw such thoughts out of your head," warned Alexander Lukashenko.
He emphasized that this is not his personal money, but the money of the entire Belarusian people, which was allocated to Vitebsk region under specific obligations and results. "A doctor from Gomel or a miner from Soligorsk provided you support through the tax system of budget revenue distribution. Therefore, I do not write off anything to anyone. And you do not deserve this today. The people have authorized me to demand full accountability from you. To thoroughly investigate why you squandered this support and came again with an outstretched hand," said the President.
On empty promises in which the region has drowned
"Vitebsk region has simply drowned in a mass of empty promises, subsequently unconfirmed by deeds (I can recall both red cows in 'Ustye', and vaccines from 'BelVituNifarm', and the Orsha meat processing plant)," the head of state listed.
He cited several other negative facts. Thus, over five years, the volume of industrial production has decreased to 98% with a growth of 114% across the country. Traditional sectors of the region, including oil refining, light industry, and energy, have declined.
"You are already asking for state support even for the famous 'Belvest' ('effective investor' left Br300 million in debts and does not know what to do)," the head of state gave an example. "And across the road — 'Marko'. It works. Why not turn to him: 'Tell me, what is the problem?'.
Alexander Lukashenko also drew attention to the work of the Orsha flax processing plant, which itself is "struggling with variable success," and to which the Baranovichi PHA was transferred into the "holding." "We will definitely look at what is happening there in the near future. This year, the country harvested 25% more flax straw (183.4 thousand tons, plus 40 thousand tons compared to the level of 2024), this harvest cannot be wasted. This is a serious reserve for the economy of the flax processing plant, an opportunity to obtain additional currency and net profit," said the President.
On the initiative "One district — one project"
Alexander Lukashenko noted that it will soon be necessary to summarize the initiative "One district — one project." In Vitebsk region, this task is only being implemented in half of the districts.
"On the one hand, we are absolutely right to strengthen the push for investment projects in small districts, where every job becomes worth its weight in gold. On the other hand, by building a new pulp mill, we can 'expose' all nearby territories — the village. For you, this is a serious exam — to maintain a reasonable staffing balance. Especially through housing," said Alexander Lukashenko. "In Vitebsk region, there has been a distortion — last year, more than 40% of all apartments (houses) with state support, including rental ones, were built in the city of Vitebsk itself. How do you plan to solve the problem of staff shortages in other districts with such housing policy?"
On agro-industrial associations and the situation in agriculture
Separately, the President focused on the situation in the agro-industrial complex of the region. He reminded that at the suggestion of the regional leadership, agro-industrial associations were created on the basis of processing enterprises. To reduce the financial burden, debts of more than Br2 billion were restructured. A strict task was set: to increase production volumes, load capacities, and pay off deferred debts from the revenue obtained.
However, the results of work in the agro-industrial complex of the region mainly show a negative trend.
The production of agricultural products compared to 2020 has decreased by 5%. In 2025, the decline continues (for 9 months — 98.1% in farms of all categories).
Crop production has fallen by more than 20%.
In livestock, although there is a small plus — 5%, but only poultry farming has grown well, and even that is against the previous low base. For other types, there is a decline in indicators.
For example, the production (breeding) of cattle has decreased by 6%, and the main reason is the loss of livestock. In Vitebsk region, mortality from January to September 2025 increased by 40%.
Alexander Lukashenko also drew attention to the low level of technical provision of agricultural organizations: 70% of the machinery fleet is over 10 years old. "And if we allocate to you, for example, expensive energy-intensive tractors, then the State Control and police constantly write that they are being inefficiently operated (from the contouring of fields to the availability of operators and the condition of machine yards)," said the head of state.
At the same time, he noted that if one treats the equipment "humanely," then a 10-year service life is normal. The head of state warned that there will be no "nonsense" in terms of supplying equipment en masse.
Another aspect — according to the information from the State Control Committee, the capacity utilization of dairy processing enterprises in 2025 is just over 60%. For meat — less than half — 49%. Hence the chronic lack of revenue and, consequently, the problem of wild indebtedness throughout the chain — from the farmer to processing.
"Once again, I remind you about the total debt of the region — as of September 1, it amounts to Br1.6 billion ($500 million equivalent). Of this, almost Br1 billion (Br950 million) needs to be paid off in the next five years. Will you manage? At such rates — no. How did we get to this point?" — the head of state posed questions.
He demanded to report why the expected results were not achieved. Moreover, out of the 7 created agro-associations, only 6 are currently operating (to prevent the bankruptcy of OJSC "Milk," it was merged with the Polotsk Dairy Plant).