Officials No Longer Fear Lukashenka

Andrei Branisheuski The dictator’s wishes were ignored. 

 On Wednesday, the government finally approved changes to the notorious Decree 713 regulating prices. After several months of intense deliberations, prices in Belarus were partially deregulated. However, they were not allowed to rise too much, and Lukashenka’s demands were still disregarded. 

Compromise 

The amended decree was published Thursday morning. A cap on profit margins for producers was introduced, and price increases will no longer require approval. A single markup has been set for imported goods, and prices on export goods will no longer be regulated. The biggest changes, however, are the reduction in the list of goods subject to price regulation. This was first announced by the new Prime Minister, Aliaksandr Turchyn, two weeks ago. Initially, the government indicated that the list of socially important goods could be reduced by two or even three times. In the end, 120 items were removed from the original list of 330. This means the list of socially important products, whose prices will continue to be regulated, has shrunk by half. The initial goal was much more ambitious, but the result was modest. For example, salted and fresh fish remain socially important, but smoked fish and crab sticks are no longer on the list. Prices for dumplings and vareniki will still be regulated, but pies and pancakes will be left to float freely. Cosmetics and most personal hygiene products have been removed from the list, while cars and spare parts remain. 

Doctor, everyone is ignoring me 

In the end, the price reform turned out to be a compromise between economic practicality and Alexander Lukashenko’s views on fairness. Just last Friday, Lukashenka criticized the idea of reducing the list of socially important goods. “The new Prime Minister is starting to stir up old problems. Why are we bothering? Let’s cut the controlled goods by half or a third. Let them raise prices as they want,” he said at a meeting about liberalizing control activities. He was especially concerned about the social importance of gold wedding rings, whose prices were never regulated anyway. It seems the main point of his public worries was to have something to publicly worry about, with little regard for what specifically needed attention. But the fact that his wishes were ignored remains a notable point. It means that Lukashenka’s verbal interventions are no longer a directive for action, even for his own government. These interventions can be ignored without negative consequences for health or personal careers. His verbal interventions have become more of a formal excuse for nodding along in meetings, rather than being something to act on. While the government focuses on current economic issues, Lukashenka is tackling the crucial problem of strengthening executive discipline. Because if nothing else can be done, strengthening discipline is the only option left. 

Andrei Branisheuski, planbmedia.io

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