LOGOISK DISTRICT, 16 April (BelTA) – Subbotniks represent an event that should be borrowed from Soviet times. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko made the statement as he participated in the nationwide subbotnik (voluntary labor day) on 16 April, BelTA has learned.
Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “We don't force anyone to work. They do it voluntarily. Nobody forces anyone to work for the sake of their motherland.”
He referred to the cleanup and beautification of the Khatyn Memorial Complex as an example. “We want to pay tribute to the memory of those people. We've come. If some scoundrel wants to forget it, cross it out (we see it in our southern neighbor), it is his business. We will fight it ferociously.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko reminded that he had said many times that all the best Soviet traditions should be preserved and assimilated. “Subbotnik is one of the things we should borrow. It is a tradition and our people live by traditions,” the Belarusian leader stressed.
He also refuted statements made by certain individuals, who believe that subbotniks violate labor laws. “I know of it and have heard it more than once. I don't even want to respond to this wild nonsense,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “Totally absurd. We don't violate any laws here by coming and working a bit instead of sitting on a sofa.”
“This is why don't even listen to these arguments. Honestly speaking, such arguments of theirs are beneficial for us. They allow people to see who is who. If a person talks like that, he or she is a scoundrel. There is no other word for it. And if, god forbid, something happens, they are future collaborators. This is why it is good that we see them. The year 2020 taught us,” the president concluded.
