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President
23 April 2018, 11:35

Lukashenko shares his thoughts on Year of Native Land

SHKLOV DISTRICT, 23 April (BelTA) – The Year of Native Land, which Belarus declared in 2018, is only the beginning, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko told reporters during the National Clean-Up Day on 21 April, BelTA has learned.

“It was my idea (to declare 2018 the Year of Native Land - note by BelTA). There were many suggestions. But I thought that we must raise this topic. It is not even the year of native land but three years. Because we will hardly manage to do everything in one year. People need time to get used to the idea, set some plans. Some need to earn money first to invest it in their hometowns afterwards,” the head of state noted.

“I suggested declaring the Year of Native Land. Afterwards we may think of extending it. Therefore, it is only the beginning,” Alexander Lukashenko said.

“With regard to the agro-towns, we outlined where each of them will be located. We clearly know what they should look like. Much has been done. Not everything but each agto-town has its own development plan. Agro-towns are like towns in rural areas. A small, rustic style. It is necessary that the village should be well-organized where people will aspire to live longer than in the city. This is my plan,” the Belarusian leader said.

Alexander Lukashenko cited the village where he was born as an example. According to him, even in Soviet times, it was considered as depressed. But today the situation has changed. The head of state noted that he played a role in this. Yet not much has been done. “Nothing special. We got the road asphalted, the gas supply service extended. There are old houses. We cannot tear them down. We do not need Potemkin villages. We need people to live there,” Alexander Lukashenko said.

“I would like to have not only an agro-town, but also a village of the second, third and fourth level to be preserved. I understand that we will not be able to keep all the small villages. However, there are enough rich people who love their native land and can support it,” the president said.

Alexander Lukashenko believes that big villages, which once were farm centers, should be preserved as well. “There are community centers and stores there. We cannot bring all the people into one agro-town. The villages located near highways with good logistics and communications are also of great importance. They were not hubs, but were comfortable for people to live in. They should be developed further,” the head of state said.

“These are four levels of villages: agro-towns, former farm centers, big villages and these depressed small villages,” the president said.

The Belarusian leader also spoke about urban-type settlements, such as Kopys, Orekhovsk, Yelizov. There are several dozens of them in Belarus. “These are wonderful places. We have restored Kopys and showed how an urban-type settlement should look like. Then go district centers, oblast centers and Minsk Hero City. We have plans and designs how our Belarus should be developed. We have already done a lot to beautify our country,” the president said.

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