The ability to wisely make plans for the future instead of living from one day to another is important for any person. What university should you choose in order to like the chosen profession later on and make money from it? How should you organize your daily life so that the family would be comfortable? Do you have to take out a loan now or make savings in order to get enough for a big purchase? All these major and minor matters are part of our life. What happens when not only your personal interests or interests of your family are at stake? If you are in charge of a small division, an enterprise, an economy branch or even an entire country, then it is your job to actually make plans for the future for everyone you are responsible for.
And it is not a one-off thing but routine work you have to do on a daily basis. Even if you want to simply forget about it and catch your breath. But when he or she plans something, the executive relies on a collective, on people. Plans mean nothing if masses do not care for them, if they are not part of the conscience of the majority. This is why it is important to listen to and hear people, to talk to them, share plans with them, and convince them. And sometimes wherever necessary, you have to act contrary to popular beliefs because you are sure you are right. All these skills separate a temporary ruler from a genuine leader with eyes gazing into the future.
Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko has been talking a lot about the future recently. During meetings with young Belarusians, during visits to enterprises, during government conferences and even in the church that the head of state traditionally visits on Christmas and Easter. When asked why he is doing it, the president has sincerely spoken more than once: a change of generations is drawing near.
This is the truth of life and it is unavoidable. But it is necessary to preserve the country and make sure that you will be replaced by professionals and patriots, who will not ruin what has been created by labor of millions of citizens over past decades of independence. Aleksandr Lukashenko’s attitude to the matter is pointedly indicated by, for instance, the words he said several years ago: “The surrender of sovereignty is out of the question. Belarus is my child. I have created it with my own hands. How can I ruin it with my own hands?”
This is why he talks a lot about the future. He is preparing the nation, gives more leeway to the central government and municipal authorities, has initiated procedures to give a special status to the Belarusian People’s Congress. So that after decades of authoritarianism (there is absolutely nothing bad about it, this policy was justified and supported by the nation in the ruins of the 1990s) to make peaceful and calm transition to the next stage. When instead of Aleksandr Lukashenko the country will be ruled by “a collective Lukashenko” – a new generation, who will be able to build an even better future for the Belarusian nation on the foundation of current accomplishments.
“I love my nation and it is my peculiarity. 30 years ago I swore that I will serve my people and that’s what I do. However complicated it may be for me. All kinds of things have happened. We have not committed blunt errors. We’ve been treading on thin ice but we have never broken the ice and have never fallen into this bitterly cold water. It is our key accomplishment,” Aleksandr Lukashenko confessed as he visited a church on Orthodox Christmas, 7 January.
So, what is the incumbent president’s vision of Belarus’ future? What advice does he have for young Belarusians? BelTA’s article has collated the key recent talking points of the head of state.
What democracy does Belarus need?
Aleksandr Lukashenko was asked what future he expects Belarus to have in several decades when he met with students of liberal sciences at Minsk State Linguistic University in November 2024. In his response the president pointed out that the image of Belarus’ future and the way the country will follow would have to be determined by the young Belarusians.
“I want you to live in Belarus, to work and earn money here. I want you to be in control of your destiny and your country. To put it simply. For this you must determine its path, starting with the election of the president and expressing your position in a cultural, intelligent way. You must express your opinion and direct the country where it needs to go,” the head of state stressed.
It is the kind of democracy the country needs – democracy of order and discipline, Aleksandr Lukashenko is convinced. “Go and vote. But if you elect one, please let the newly elected president exercise his powers. If you do not like his decisions, well, express your opinion,” he remarked.
Aleksandr Lukashenko said he would like Belarus to stay a peaceful country in the future, a country that is convenient for life, a country where more and more generations of Belarusians would like to live. And he would like them to be proud of their country.
“Our world order is about peace and quiet. The rest can be earned. Our living conditions will depend on how we work,” he said.
How does Lukashenko see the truth of life and the philosophy of success?
During a traditional ball for young Belarusians ahead of New Year’s Eve Aleksandr Lukashenko talked about the key idea that he came with in big politics back in the day: to preserve continuity.
“I felt inner confidence in the correctness of this course and the general public wanted it. This is why the nation offered support,” he said. “Because every sensible citizen understood a simple truth: we, the Belarusians, at least do not need to fight for the right to build our own state. But if we forget or betray those who have passed this way, we will have to start anew. And the most terrible thing is that (you can already see it today) we may have to start anew with weapons in our hands. God forbid,” the president noted.
“This is the truth of life and the philosophy of success: if you want to rise higher, you don’t break the foundation built by generations before you. You rely on it and move forward,” the Belarusian leader offered the advice.
During a New Year celebration for kids at the Palace of the Republic the president advised the little ones to study hard: “You will not accomplish much without it. You see how much more complicated the life is now. Your entire lives are ahead of you. You have bright heads without any burdens. Act! Load your heads with the knowledge that schools, universities and so on try to teach you. You will need it a lot in your future life. In order to make the right choice in your future life, you need to study today.”
“I understand that you wake up in the morning like I did back in the day. Like your elder friends, professors, and teachers did. You do not want to go anywhere. The weather is inclement. You want to stay at home but there is one word that has become a buzzword recently: must. Do you understand me? You must!” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
What hardships does the president warn about? Why any which way won’t cut it?
The forthcoming five-year term in Belarus will be dedicated to quality. The first year of the five-year term has been declared the Year of Improvement of the country. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko mentioned it in his New Year address. He explained the matter in more detail at the first public event of the year 2025: a meeting with the president’s authorized representatives for the presidential election campaign.
The year 2024 was a Year of Quality in Belarus but it came and went comparatively unnoticed. This is why it was decided that more efforts would be poured into this area for five years instead of just one. “There is a certain Belarusian formality: any which way. Things won’t happen any which way. Things will happen properly,” the head of state stressed.
He stated that quite many problems remain unsolved. Those are pricing practices, housing and utilities, performance of the mass transit system, the state of automobile roads, and the rest. “We need to tackle them. We need strict operational discipline. It is necessary to simply fulfill what we agree on,” the president demanded. “But the complacency that we have now, especially among the president’s supporters, is wrong. We must not relax under any circumstances. Moreover, we run the country: how can we loosen up? If people trust us, we must keep working. We must carry on with the policy that we have started. I have meticulously analyzed all the issues that we have dealt with. I do not see any secondary problems or tertiary problems that can be de-prioritized. All the problems that we have dealt with so far will remain relevant in the future.”
There should be no self-complacency because the year 2025 will not be simple but difficult. Aleksandr Lukashenko has talked about it plainly and explicitly several times. Economy is the key challenge. Sanctions are less of a problem in comparison with the overall state of affairs around the country, the situation in neighboring countries – on the main target markets for Belarus.
But all the conditions are enabled in the state right now to allow anyone to make their lives better, Aleksandr Lukashenko is convinced. The recipe is simple: work harder if you want to live a better life.
At the same time the president does not intend to abandon the people-first policy but he says it loud and clear that everyone’s contribution to the common wealth is important: “A people-first state is when the state prioritizes people. But the state will not do the jobs people are supposed to do. It is not the role of the state. The state has its own functions.”
“But when we are united, when we stand together, when we at least look to one side in the same manner, then everything will be good for us. We will overcome all the complications and hardships. We have learned how to overcome them. We know how to overcome. But we can do it only together,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said on Orthodox Christmas.
What does Lukashenko identify as the key value?
One can talk a lot about economy, wellbeing, a people-first state, but all of it can be gone in an instant if the country does not have the key value: peace. And Aleksandr Lukashenko wishes exclusively a peaceful future for Belarus.
“It is my job. Everything will be done to preserve peace in Belarus. If we have peace, we will buy the rest. We may not live a rich life but a decent one. As we do now. We don’t ask anyone for anything. We live within the money, the means, and capabilities that we realize in Belarus. This is why to preserve peace is the most important thing for us. If we don’t have peace, then we need nothing,” the president stated.
As an example of what happens when peace is gone, Aleksandr Lukashenko referred to a neighboring country where people die in their thousands. “Do we need that? We don’t. This is why we will do everything to preserve peace,” he assured.
In his words, this year and the entire five-year term will also proceed under the slogan of peace and security.
Justice is another important condition of peace. Justice everywhere: the attitude to people, pricing practices, and more than that. If oligarchs, whose pockets are heavy with ill-gotten gains, rise to power, then they will think primarily about preserving their capital instead of people. And the shortage of justice will result in a war sooner or later, Aleksandr Lukashenko cautioned.
In addition to peace the preservation of the country’s sovereignty despite anyone’s attempt to stir up trouble is another unconditional value that Belarusians have rightfully earned.
“We will preserve our country. It already belongs to our children and grandchildren, this is why we should think about their future and we do that. We will do everything in the forthcoming five-year term to make our country forget the problem of preserving its statehood for good. Our country will always be an independent state despite any tendencies in the international arena,” the head of state stressed during the ceremony held on 8 January to present the president’s prizes For Spiritual Revival.
To whom does Lukashenko intend to entrust the country’s future?
It has already been noted that the future of the state is always in the hands of the young generation. It is not only a privilege but a great responsibility. Aleksandr Lukashenko is not inclined to excessively criticize young people but from the height of his life experience and presidential experience he cannot help but notice certain shortcomings. “Yes, our young people are quite good. They are what they are. We will not have a different kind. But I am worried by the fact that our young people are not as attached to work as we are,” the head of state said. “This is why you will have a serious exam in the future. We will have to determine a normal government, a normal president. A government that will identify the way our country will develop. We will not avoid it. It is what the change of generations is all about.”
“I am not saying that I will flee somewhere tomorrow. As long as I have health, I will stay with you. In any position I will keep working in order to preserve what we have created with our own hands,” Aleksandr Lukashenko assured people on Orthodox Christmas.
He stressed he does not cling to power and will do everything to quietly and calmly pass on this power to a new generation: “The future and particularly the next five-year term will see a change of generations. I and many of those, who stand with me, will not live forever. It is necessary to raise a young generation. The next generation. Our kids, who will take Belarus in their hands and will take good care of it, will appreciate it.”
And although a change of generations is always a painful process, Aleksandr Lukashenko promised that steps will be taken in Belarus so that people would not notice any painfulness.
But the change of generations will not be limited to positions of power. It will happen in various spheres and it is necessary to prepare the change. “You and I will have to form this generation and you and I will have to put them in their seats: art workers, cultural workers, and so on and so forth. And in positions of power. The hardest work but we are intent on organizing it and carrying it out,” the Belarusian leader stated at the Palace of the Republic on 8 January.
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