‘Lukashenka Has No Money And No Funds Expected’

Additional confirmation has emerged that the treasury is already empty.

Finance Minister Yury Seliverstau announced the refinancing of debts to Russia, but the exact amounts and terms remain undisclosed.

Why does the Lukashenka regime continue to hide data on national debt? The Charter97.org website discussed this with Belarusian political analyst Anatoly Kotov:

— I have only a very short answer. The only reason to hide this data is from the population and businesses, so they do not understand the financial situation. Apparently, it's not just that there is no money—there is none at all. And none in sight.

For foreign and international organizations, this is not much of a secret. Within the EAEU, even if not publicly, all this information is known.

— Given that Belarus is sinking deeper into debt dependency on Russia, how dangerous is this "refinancing" model in the long term?

— Debt itself is not a bad thing if it is manageable and the costs of servicing it are low. Every country lives this way.

However, in the case of debt to Russia over the past years, there has been no information on its repayment. Refinancing in this case looks like an accumulation of debt and an increase in interest payments. If the debt is not written off, it will have to be repaid. However, in the current format, this is definitely not a problem for Lukashenka or Seliverstau, but for those who come after them.

— Recently, the media reported on mass searches in real estate agencies. Could this be part of the authorities' campaign to extract money from the private sector to cover growing debt and repression costs?

— The searches will continue and expand into other sectors. This is just additional confirmation that the treasury is already empty. It can only be replenished through the old-fashioned method of "food requisitioning." One could console oneself with the thought that after food requisitioning came the NEP, but not everyone survived those terrifying times.

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