MINSK, 18 March (BelTA) – In The Honest Story project on BelTA’s YouTube channel, American Jason Blank who moved to Belarus, gave his take on the personality of Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko and his policies.
Speaking about the situation in Belarus and the role of Aleksandr Lukashenko in the rise of the country, Jason Blank noted: “If enterprises keep working, it means people have jobs, they have salaries, they can provide for their families. I think this is a very reasonable policy that makes perfect sense.”
“Aleksandr Lukashenko is criticized for allegedly knowing nothing about the economy, for hailing from the village. For me, this is offensive. If a person is from the village, does this mean that this person cannot be smart? I don’t see how it correlates. He is from the village. Obviously, this man is genius. He's a historian, among other things,” he said.
Jason Blank also opined on sanctions. “A few years ago when severe sanctions were introduced by Europe and America on combine harvesters and components, Belarus started working towards becoming more self-reliant, to produce more on its own. It can survive. I think Russia, too. They will learn from this lesson,” the man noted.
According to Jason Blank, when sanctions were imposed on Russia, the Russians realized that they would be in a very vulnerable position without an independent economy. “I remember that it was generally believed in the 1990s that Russia’s economy was a total disaster, that they did not produce anything, that the country was taken over by oligarchs and so on. But when I visited the Belagro expo several years ago and saw Rostselmash equipment, I realized that modern Russia was a far cry from what Americans thought of it in the 1990s ,” the man said. “We live in America, and we had an inflow of immigrants from Russia and Belarus. What we were supposed to think when these people said that everyone there was terribly poor.” Jason Blank drew attention to the fact that this opinion was grounded in reality after the collapse of the Soviet Union, but now everything is different.
“Russia is rising, Belarus is rising, while the United States is simply falling apart,” said Jason Blank, sadly noting that despite this, many still think that America is a paradise.
Speaking about the situation in Belarus and the role of Aleksandr Lukashenko in the rise of the country, Jason Blank noted: “If enterprises keep working, it means people have jobs, they have salaries, they can provide for their families. I think this is a very reasonable policy that makes perfect sense.”
“Aleksandr Lukashenko is criticized for allegedly knowing nothing about the economy, for hailing from the village. For me, this is offensive. If a person is from the village, does this mean that this person cannot be smart? I don’t see how it correlates. He is from the village. Obviously, this man is genius. He's a historian, among other things,” he said.
Jason Blank also opined on sanctions. “A few years ago when severe sanctions were introduced by Europe and America on combine harvesters and components, Belarus started working towards becoming more self-reliant, to produce more on its own. It can survive. I think Russia, too. They will learn from this lesson,” the man noted.
According to Jason Blank, when sanctions were imposed on Russia, the Russians realized that they would be in a very vulnerable position without an independent economy. “I remember that it was generally believed in the 1990s that Russia’s economy was a total disaster, that they did not produce anything, that the country was taken over by oligarchs and so on. But when I visited the Belagro expo several years ago and saw Rostselmash equipment, I realized that modern Russia was a far cry from what Americans thought of it in the 1990s ,” the man said. “We live in America, and we had an inflow of immigrants from Russia and Belarus. What we were supposed to think when these people said that everyone there was terribly poor.” Jason Blank drew attention to the fact that this opinion was grounded in reality after the collapse of the Soviet Union, but now everything is different.
“Russia is rising, Belarus is rising, while the United States is simply falling apart,” said Jason Blank, sadly noting that despite this, many still think that America is a paradise.
