These are the real allies of Belarus. Lukashenko made a bet on them back in the 1990s and did not lose

President of Belarus ALEXANDER LUKASHENKOgot acquainted with the progress of construction work of the general educational theater and museum complex (choreographic school) on Russky Island in Vladivostok,April 2022 Photo from the archive President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko got acquainted with the progress of construction work of the general educational theater and museum complex (choreographic school) on Russky Island in Vladivostok,April 2022 Archive photo 12

Recently, many have begun to notice that Belarus seems to have stepped up contacts with Russian regions. They say that problems in relations with the West are forcing them to look for partners throughout RUSSIA. But nothing like that. The Belarusian authorities began to actively build relations with Russian partners back in the 1990s - with the signing of agreements on the formation of a community, and then the Union of Belarus and Russia. And even earlier: after the referendum in 1995, the results of which fixed the course for economic integration with Russia. In the new issue of the BELTA YouTube project "In Fact: Decisions of the First" we will tell you what unites Belarusians and the Far East, thanks to what or to whom at the dawn of the 2000s the Union of Belarus and Russia was saved, where Belarusian products are most loved today and in which regions of Russia Alexander Lukashenko dreams of visiting.

As we noted, the Belarusians began to build relations with the Russian regions back in the 1990s. The point here is not only in economics or politics, but also in history, common traditions and values. And it's not just about the period of cohabitation in the Soviet Union. it turns out that some settlements in Russia were founded by Belarusians back in the days of the Russian Empire. Thus, the ties between our regions are many, many years old.

Artur Karpovich, HEAD of the branch of the Belarusian embassy in Ufa, noted that many residents in the Russian regions have Belarusian roots, which is why Belarus is loved in Russia. But only a few representatives of the younger generation of Russians have been to our country.

“The farther from Belarus, the more people dream of visiting there. In this regard, it is very important to have direct flights between MINSK and the capitals of at least large regions with a population of over a million people. We made an analysis throughout the Russian Federation, identified 15 regions with whom It is most expedient at the initial stage to open direct flights, and made a corresponding proposal to the embassy. This will be an impetus not only for the economy, but also in the tourism sector, and for bringing our peoples closer," the diplomat said.

How Belarusians mastered the Far East

In the second half of the 19th century, mass colonization of the Far East began. Among the first settlers were people from Belarus. One of the places where they settled was the village of Ivanovka in Primorsky Krai, founded in 1883. Elements of Belarusian culture are still preserved here. Among the Belarusian names of Primorye is the village of Lidovka, founded by settlers from the Belarusian city of Lida. In total, in the 19th - early 20th centuries, according to rough estimates, there were about 18% of Belarusians among the settlers to the Far East. Subsequently, they were assimilated with the neighboring Russian and Ukrainian population, and today only toponymy can answer the question of which villages in the region were founded by Belarusians.

So, the village of Rogachevka in the Amur region was founded in 1898 by settlers from the Rogachev district of the Mogilev province. And the village of Kostyukovka was founded in 1901 by people from the village of the same name in the same province. The village of Nizhniye Buzuli was also founded in 1909 by immigrants from Belarus. From the Belarusian language, the word "buzui" is translated as "walkers who were looking for a new place", and the letter "l", according to the old-timers, was inserted into the name later - for a more solid sound. The village of Petrovichi was founded by two brothers who quarreled with their parents. They took only two axes from the house and left. In the new place, they began to cut wood and build houses. And so the settlement appeared, which they decided to name in honor of the village of the same name in their homeland.

Entire villages set out on the journey. The first settlers traveled to the Far East for two years. On the way, they prepared food for the cattle that went along with them. Children were born in the convoy. Watchers rode ahead and showed the way.

Even more active settlement of the Far East began after the Russo-Japanese War as a result of the reforms of Pyotr Stolypin. These processes have received a stable name - "Stolypin resettlement". The resettlement continued during the Soviet period.

“Primorsky Krai is an old and promising partner of Belarus in the Far East. I always talk about this and I am convinced that you understand my position in this way: Vladivostok is far away, but it is not alien to us. Our Fatherland from Brest to Vladivostok has remained like that. whoever fluttered, this is our Fatherland. There are already sovereign, independent states in this vast space, this is how life decreed, but this is our land," the President of Belarus.

Why Belarus is interested in the Far East today

The Far Eastern Federal District is the most remote region of the Russian Federation. It includes the Primorsky, Kamchatka and Khabarovsk Territories, the Amur, Magadan, Sakhalin and Jewish Autonomous Regions, and the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. The county borders on the DPRK, Japan, the United States and CHINA.

In 2018, the first agro-town in the history of the island was built on Sakhalin according to the Belarusian project. Then the keys to apartments in new buildings along Belorusskaya Street from the hands of the governor Oleg Kozhemyako were received by nine families. “It was one of the largest objects of modern rural housing construction in the Sakhalin Region. A livestock complex for a thousand heads of milking herd was also built, which became one of the largest in the Far East in the agricultural industry,” said an adviser to the branch of the Belarusian Embassy in Russia in Vladivostok Alexey Sergushkov.

The structure of Belarusian exports to the Far East is dominated by deliveries of trucks, specific goods, equipment and devices for filtering liquids, cheeses and cottage cheese, butter, MILK and cream, plastic construction parts, aluminum profiles and rods. Belarusian food products are especially popular among the population.

Since the beginning of 2023, a line of Belarusian-made household appliances of such brands as Atlant, Vityaz, Gefest has been presented in the Primorsky Territory. The long-term partner of MTZ and MAZ - the Far East Auto Center - is actively working on the creation of a single center for the demonstration and sale of Belarusian-made equipment. A significant part of the work has already been carried out on the site allocated by the regional authorities, and there are all prerequisites for the start of its operation earlier than planned. "This project is being implemented within the framework of the relevant instructions of the President of Belarus and the Governor of the Primorsky Territory. Work on the supply of a very large batch of new equipment from Belarus to Primorye in 2023 is at the final stage," said the adviser to the embassy branch.

By the way, Brest and Vladivostok are related cities to a certain extent. One is located on the western border of the Union State, the other - on the east. The cities have heroic fortresses designed by one Soviet scientist, military engineer Dmitry Karbyshev. “At the same time, Vladivostok does not have a single Belarusian sister city. And already this summer, thousand-year-old Brest and 163-year-old Vladivostok can become sister cities, and the Brest region and Primorsky Krai can become partners in various areas of cooperation, including trade and economic cooperation,” said Alexey Sergushkov.

What helped to keep the union of Belarus and Russia

At the dawn of the 2000s, the Union of Belarus and Russia had many opponents among the Russian elite. It was interregional cooperation that saved relations between countries at that time. Realizing this, Alexander Lukashenko began to actively develop contacts directly with the subjects of the Russian Federation and the leaders of the regions. Moreover, they had more power then. And only thanks to the efforts of the Russian governors, the President noted, Belarus and Russia managed to maintain the highest level of relations. Today, citizens of Belarus and Russia have equal rights in the areas of work, recreation, healthcare, and education. There are no similar examples of concern for people living in different states and related by family ties in the post-Soviet space.

Alexander Lukashenko during a visit to the Belgorod region, May 1995

“I always thank the regions of Russia. Our Belarusian-Russian relations in the old days were saved only by the regions of Russia,” the head of state noted. “If we didn’t have cooperation with them then, it would be very difficult for us to maintain relations that we were part of the Soviet Union. After the collapse, the hardest times were."

Belarus maintains close contacts with more than 70 regions of Russia - from Smolensk to Sakhalin. Agreements on trade, economic, scientific, technical and cultural cooperation have been concluded with them. In addition, within the framework of interregional cooperation, about 450 agreements have been concluded between the regions of Belarus and the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, as well as between Belarusian regions, cities and Russian municipalities. Every year Minsk receives dozens of delegations from Russian regions. For example, at the time of the release of this issue, there were guests from Tatarstan in Belarus.

"We came to Belarus with a large delegation - 75 people, 30 companies. The presidents set the task for us to make technological sovereignty, independence from the West and the East. Our task is to fully mobilize all forces for the production of equipment, chemistry, small-tonnage equipment, aircraft construction, shipbuilding. We should be completely independent," Tatarstan Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Industry and Trade Oleg Korobchenko.

Oleg Korobchenko

The head of the branch of the Belarusian Embassy in Kazan, Viktor Shchetko, added that for several years the trade turnover between Belarus and Tatarstan has exceeded $1 billion. One of the landmark projects is the MTZ subsidiary in Tatarstan. Minsk tractors are assembled here. Other Belarusian equipment is also supplied through this company. "There is a project to create a gas engine between the Minsk Motor Plant and the Elabuga-Raritek company from Tatarstan. This engine will be installed on MTZ tractors. Prototypes have been produced that are undergoing trial operation in the fields of Tatarstan," Viktor Shchetko said.

Another promising project is planned in the aircraft industry. plans to produce components for the Kazan Aviation Plant.

“ The sanctions were announced too late for us . We should have done this five years ago, and we would have had everything already. But if they hold out for another 5-10 years, I think that everything will be fine here, both in Belarus and in Russia. We will do everything ourselves, and technological sovereignty will be achieved," Oleg Korobchenko said.

Which regions of Russia are among the top partners of Belarus

The top ten importers of goods from Belarus in 2022 included the Moscow region and Moscow itself, the Smolensk region, St. Petersburg, the Bryansk region, the Republic of Tatarstan, the Rostov, Kemerovo, Leningrad and Sverdlovsk regions. They accounted for almost 73% of Belarusian exports to Russia.

“There are no important, secondary, close or distant provinces of Russia for Belarus. If Smolensk, Bryansk or Pskov are nearby, this does not mean that they are more important to us, more important, and the Astrakhan region is secondary. On the contrary, the farther, the more important that we be together ", were nearby and could cooperate with each other. Any region, a Russian, a Russian person - these are our people. Can we help with something in agriculture - please. We will give away the last grain, super-elite, so that you have a good "- as- then Alexander Lukashenko.

Interregional cooperation is a two-way road. And the regions of Belarus and Russia complement each other well here, said Artur Karpovich, head of the branch of the Belarusian embassy in Ufa.

“Each region has its own characteristics and is interesting for Belarus in its own way. Of course, the Samara region differs from the Republic of Kalmykia, but it cannot be said that Kalmykia is less significant for Belarus,” he noted. “The Astrakhan region and Kalmykia have access to the Caspian Sea, therefore for them, the most important interest is to attract Belarus as a partner in the development of infrastructure in the port area, in the transshipment of Belarusian cargo through existing ports.Belarusian goods are in demand there, and our equipment is needed there, and elevators.And in the future we plan to provide construction services Astrakhan region".

What regions of Russia did Alexander Lukashenko dream of visiting?

Alexander Lukashenko visited the most distant regions of Russia. For example, in the winter of 1998, returning from the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, he visited the capital of Primorye, Vladivostok. Then the President took a walk around the city, laid a wreath at the Eternal Flame at the "Combat Glory of the Pacific Fleet" memorial. Met with cadets and teachers of the Far Eastern State Maritime Academy. And in the evening a solemn reception was given in honor of the Belarusian leader in Vladivostok. The next morning the President flew to Novosibirsk.

24 years later, in 2022, Alexander Lukashenko visited Primorye again. But if his previous visit here was rather symbolic, then during the latest negotiations agreements were reached in many areas from mutual trade and supplies to the creation of a service center in Vladivostok for servicing Belarusian equipment and the participation of specialists in the development of the city.

After the talks, Alexander Lukashenko visited Russky Island, where a multifunctional cultural and educational center is being built. Belarusian specialists are also involved in its construction. As the President was informed, 44 people from Belarus are currently working at the facility. It is planned that another 50 people will be sent here by the end of April, and another 50 by mid-May.

"My dream was to visit Sakhalin when Oleg Nikolayevich was in charge of this territory. Probably, someday we will visit, and you will remember the past. It would be interesting to visit Kamchatka, Magadan, Chukotka, Lake Baikal in Russia. This is of great interest to me. All I can more or less imagine the rest. During the years of my presidency, I have traveled all over the world, and I can say that Russia is a unique place," the head of state admitted.

Belarus and Russia showed the whole world what integration is. Sometimes Belarusians like to scare: now you will be included in Russia. To which Alexander Lukashenko logically objects: why not vice versa? But, speaking seriously, together Belarus and Russia are able to teach integration even to the European Union.

“I say: Putin and I are not so stupid as to act by old methods. We, I say, will build such a unity of two independent states that they will learn from us. They will learn! And how to overcome sanctions, and so on,” the Belarusian leader emphasized. .

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