Longed-for $500 salary for Belarusians. Govt fails to fulfil Lukashenka’s order


Only one thing is unfailing in the ‘island of stability’ – the Belarusians’ dream of $500 salary.

Alyaksandr Lukashenka, the first and still the only president of the country, reiterates his order in his addresses to top officials:

“Steal, dig them up, find – do anything to but fix people up with $500 salary!” he said.

Meanwhile, Belarusian Prime Minister Andrey Kabyakou has recently stressed that the money ‘should be earned’. In other words, the government would pay if most people’s work was worth it.

Belarusians think differently

“Our work is worth a thousand dollars, but where are they?”

“I work for Milavitsa company which produces expensive lingerie. But our salaries are low. I would like them to be doubled.”

“The country has no money to pay $500 salary to all workers, so it is what it is.”

The average salary is reported to have amounted to BYN 819,3 ($420). Typically, incomes of Minsk residents and salaries of those who work in the IT sector and at Belarusian flagships have moved the statistics in a better direction. According to the National Statistics Committee, the average salary has been nominally growing over the past six months. But even if the growth trend holds, Belarus will not achieve the level of the cherished $500 salary by the end of the year.

Economist Yaraslau Ramanchuk believes that the nation would have such average salary if it was not for bureaucratic hurdles and orders from above.

“When the Belarusian economy becomes truly national, when 4 million people are able to come up with their business ideas, then we will have $500 or even $1,000 salary,” he stressed.

In the meantime, the regime palms the nation only with promises, ifs, ands or buts.

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