“Lord, you can live in this cabin!” What does a village tractor driver say about modern Belarusian technology?

Topic news The profession of a tractor driver in rural areas has always been considered one of the most respected, but at the same time, the most difficult. from the village of Domanovichi, Kalinkovichi district - its worthy representative, who has been working in his native farm for more than 40 years. All these years, he not only conscientiously works on the land, considering it the main breadwinner, but also took part in eliminating the consequences of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, for which he was awarded a medal.

“You can live in the cabin of a modern tractor.”
At the beginning of our conversation, Yuri Yushkovets modestly remains silent and explains: he is not used to increased attention. And he feels much more confident in the tractor cab than in front of a camera lens. It seems that our hero secretly hopes to quickly escape to the field: today is the sowing season, and this important process in agriculture cannot be delayed. Especially when every kilogram of the future harvest is at stake . True, the conversation is gradually getting better - and how can one remain silent when it comes to the favorite thing of his whole life.

“Some were born as a turner, others as a lawyer, but I’m a tractor driver,” the interlocutor smiles. - Parents never influenced the choice of profession. And the time was different, and we are more independent, responsible than today's guys. And from childhood I was drawn to technology and fields. Therefore, as soon as I graduated from school, I became a driver at the collective farm - the current KSUP named after Kutuzov.

He worked there for a relatively short time - Yuri Yushkovets was drafted into the army during the next draft. He served in the North, “with polar bears,” as the hero himself jokes. After demobilization in 1981, he returned to his small homeland and continued to work on the farm as a driver and then as a tractor driver.

“So I’ve been working here to this day - almost 43 years, but it seems like it all started just yesterday,” he smiles. - He got married, had a daughter, then a son. My wife and I work at the same agricultural enterprise. We have our own house, garden and farm: cows, pigs, chickens. But I’ve become so accustomed to technology, sowing and harvesting over these decades that even though I’ve been retired for a long time, I can’t sit idle.

Yuri Vasilyevich, as an experienced tractor driver, is involved in a variety of field processes: sowing, fodder procurement, feeding and protecting growing crops and, of course, the harvesting campaign, which he considers the most important test for farmers.
“Getting up with the first roosters, inhaling the smell of freshly cut grass, admiring how combine harvesters float majestically through the fields, as if covered with gold - these are the delights of the workdays of agricultural workers,” he says proudly. - I really like modern technology, everything works great. Now the units are not the same as they once were, even in tractors everything is thought out to the smallest detail. Now if you put you in the cockpit of new technology, you will say: Lord, you can live here!

“Belarusians do everything with soul”

Over the course of 40 years, our hero changed his workhorse several times. The current MTZ-892 is his third, which he was entrusted with as one of the leading leaders in the economy. True, Yuri Yushkovets calls the tractor a true friend, because it is with him that he spends most of his time.
“A good driver is not only one who skillfully operates equipment, but also knows a lot about it: he can service it, carry out repairs on his own, learns how to set up towed units,” the interlocutor lists and immediately tells what, in his opinion, qualities he should have experienced tractor driver. - First of all, maximum attentiveness and quick reaction. In addition to the technical features of the tractor, you also need to know the basic laws of soil cultivation: the depth of hilling, the width of rows when sowing, say, corn... There is work all year round: in spring and autumn - this is plowing, loosening the soil. The tractor also takes part in weeding the crops, which must be approached with all responsibility and attention.
All the tractor driver has to do is gape, loosening control of the equipment, and the machine swerves to the side - the matter is lost. The cultivator, according to Yuri Yushchkovets, will not go through the weeds, but through the crops.

Nowadays, a strategically important task on the farm is the procurement of feed. Our hero is also involved in this important process, because it’s not for nothing that they say that MILK is on the cow’s tongue.

- The grasses are now juicy and very nutritious, they contain a maximum of nutrients necessary for good milk yield. The first cutting is especially valuable, and we carried it out efficiently, without losses, on time,” says Yuri Vasilyevich proudly. - A farm is also not complete without a tractor. To bring food, to load something, to unload it - it is needed everywhere.

And how nice it is, according to the hero, to buy dairy products in a store and know that it was you who put a lot of effort into their appearance.

- Belarus is famous all over the world for its dairy products - tasty and high quality. I won't be wrong if I say:sour cream , yoghurts,cottage cheese , kefir , cheese curds,ice cream is one of the calling cards of our country. The secret is that Belarusians like me, caring and devoted to their homeland, work on their production with all their soul and dedication,” he notes. - You need to choose a profession to your liking. Maybe a tractor driver is not the most prestigious, requiring a lot of strength, but for me it is a great honor to be one!

“1986 divided our lives into before and after.”

Firefighters and soldiers, builders and drivers were the first in the spring of 1986 to begin eliminating the consequences of the terrible accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Yuri Yushkovets was among them.

- Even though 38 years have passed, I remember these events as if it all happened yesterday. How can such a tragedy be forgotten? - the interlocutor asks a question. - It was an early, warm spring , we were preparing feed on the farm. The brigade worked for a day, and in the evening an order was received, they say, get ready and go to Chernobyl, an accident happened there, help is needed. No details were given: how serious it was, whether it was life-threatening...
The villagers didn’t bother me with questions. Since it’s said to go to help, that means it’s necessary. The brigade was taken to Bragin, then the path lay towards Komarin - the driver was 200 meters from the station. The main task is to remove the population from the radioactive territory.
- We worked literally across the river from the station itself for a whole week. No one then thought that radiation could be so dangerous. We helped people: we collected them in villages, took them to buses that were heading to Bragin. Everyone was crying, no one wanted to leave their home - for a rural person this is his main fortress. Tell me today to urgently leave the home that I built with my own hands... Leave, leave everything and leave,” Yuri Vasilyevich says with regret. - It was hard to breathe, my mouth was so dry that it was impossible to stay without water, I rinsed my mouth every 5-10 minutes. Stuffy and hot weather is the first thing I remember today from that business trip.

Some villagers, according to the interlocutor, were in a hurry to load and remove furniture, others - pets, and still others only managed to take documents, hoping that in a week or two they would return to their huts. But this did not happen either after a month or after 38 years. Over the years, some of the villages were simply buried underground, and the once local residents began a new life far from their small homeland.

Yuri Yushkovets recalls how beautiful the nature was in the Chernobyl areas before the accident: green forests, colorful meadows and fields. Today, most of the abandoned areas have been returned to agricultural use. First of all, thanks to the HEAD of state, who fully supports the development of once-polluted areas.
- Every year, reading the April newspapers, watching TV, I involuntarily return to 1986, the sad events of which divided our lives into before and after. I remember how in those days, after the rains, a green crust appeared on the puddles, there were countless cars in the columns, bringing people to the buses, crying, bitterness on the faces of those who left their home. The consequences of the accident, of course, affected many countries, but Belarus suffered the most,” he says. “We must pay tribute to our President, who back in the 1990s made a firm decision to restore the damaged lands at any cost. And the Belarusians did it! Today we rejoice at how our Gomel region and the whole country are becoming prettier. Medicine is developing, new neighborhoods, kindergartens and schools are being built. Young people are returning to the regions. On the earth we sow and harvest grain. In a word, we live and work for the good!

Tractor driver Yuri Yushkovets was awarded a medal for participating in the liquidation of the consequences of the Chernobyl accident.

There is only one entry in Yuri Vasilyevich’s work book. He has been working at the Kutuzov KSUP, which is located in the Kalinkovichi district, for almost 43 years.

The project was created using targeted funds for the production of national content.

Marina VALAKH,
newspaper "7 days".