MINSK, 2 November (BelTA) - After the awards ceremony, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko gave schoolboy Roman Kogodovsky a tour of his office at the Palace of Independence in Minsk on 2 November, BelTA has learned.
First of all, the head of state invited the boy to sit in his office chair. "Take a seat, please. Imagine that you are in control of the process. Here you have the whole country on this console. You can reach anyone... You are from Minsk Oblast, right? You can press here to reach the Minsk Oblast governor, invite him over here, if necessary,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “Do not be shy, you are the president! This is not only the office. Here I receive government officials including your minister [Healthcare Minister Dmitry Pinevich who oversaw the boy's treatment progress]. But he doesn't like to come here because he needs to report on how the system functions. Therefore, government officials do not really like to come here, but I invite them sometimes.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko also told the boy about the photographs on his desk: “This is my youngest son, Kolya. You probably heard about him. He did not sit in this chair, even when he was little, even younger than you. You are the first. Indeed, Roman is the first to sit in the president's chair. "
"If you ever want to come to visit me and talk to some government official, I will gladly meet with you," the head of state added.
While talking to the boy, Aleksandr Lukashenko vividly showed how much information the president has to process every day by demonstrating a thick folder of various documents to the boy: “Look here. I have to memorize all of it by heart this week. Look: we are going to have an event on Thursday to talk about the Constitution. Then we are going to have online negotiations with Putin on television. I have to learn the materials by heart as well. Then I will go to Mogilev Oblast together with the minister to open a new hospital. I have to learn everything by heart, too. Within only three days.”
“Keep in mind that if you decide to be president, you have to read a lot,” the Belarusian leader said.
The president walked Roman to a big globe. “There is nothing unnecessary here in the office. When I need to fly somewhere, I look at how to get from Minsk, for example to China, Beijing. I look at the route. I sometimes need this globe even though I know the geography very well,” the head of state said.
Aleksandr Lukashenko continued his tour: “Here is a TV set. Sometimes, when my press secretary brings me some information on a flash drive, I watch it here. But I rarely turn it on.”
The president also showed the boy the area in his office where he hosts distinguished foreign guests.
“I make new appointments here. Dmitry Pinevich was not always a minister. He once came here, and we had a conversation: ‘Can you do the job?' – ‘Yes, I can', ‘Can you perform these functions?' – ‘Yes, I can'. He was appointed minister then. That is the kind of work I do here,” the president went on to tell the boy about his work.
He also spoke about two important things kept in the office. One of them is a Slutsk belt made according to the ancient technology using gold threads. “Here it is, more than two meters long. Rich people wore it before,” he told Roman.
The first copy of the Constitution of Belarus written in two state languages is also kept in the office. “Very soon there is going to be a referendum. People want to change the Constitution. I agree with them. If people vote for a new Constitution, there will be a new one here,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko.
He gave Roman a computer as the boy likes playing computer games. “Well done, Roma. Keep it up! Read a lot. If you read a lot, you learn more. Do not spend too much time on the computer I gave you. A couple of hours a day, not more,” the president told the boy.
BelTA has reported earlier, Roman Kogodovsky had saved his two-year-old brother Ivan from the house fire. Once the brother was taken to safety Roman immediately lost consciousness. In addition to the burns, he got cuts on his face and arms from broken glass through which he had to walk. On 29 April, Roman was transported by helicopter to the National Burn Center of Minsk Emergency Hospital.
The head of state kept an eye on the progress in the treatment of the boy who suffered in the fire house in the village of Sidorovichi, Myadel District.
The healthcare minister and the country's best doctors of various specializations took part in the consultations to determine the treatment protocols for Roman. Several consultations were held with the participation of Russian colleagues.
People all over Belarus recorded videos with words of support for Roman and his parents.
Earlier, the head of state had signed a decree to award Roman Kogodovsky the Order for Personal Gallantry. Doctors were honored too.
