On the eve of the New Year celebrations social media has literally exploded with videos of people unpacking gifts from companies, mostly from food and agricultural ones. We took a peek inside the colorful packages: what did employers in different regions of the country give to Belarusians?
“Everything your heart desires!”
A video of the unboxing of New Year’s gifts made for employees of OAO Slutsk Cheese-Making Plant went viral on TikTok.
“I believe that we’ve managed to approach this important matter creatively,” says Dmitry Sasinovich, chairman of the company’s joint trade union. “In addition to the best sweets from Kommunarka (1.6kg with a surprise) some people got Grandfather Frost while other ones got Snow Maiden. These gifts should be placed under the New Year’s tree while the branches of the tree should be decorated with colorful glass balls bearing the company’s logo. In addition, the package includes a branded wall calendar and pens. All of it is packed in a branded shopping bag. On top of that, there is another sweet gift and other treats for the children. In addition, all trade union members received Br50 certificates to purchase products in proprietary stores of Slutsk Cheese-Making Plant. Apart from that, the company gave every employee food kits with more than 20 types of its dairy products and meat delicacies from domestic producers: everything you need for a festive table.
“In addition to cheese, yogurt, a bucket of vanilla ice cream, and several types of butter, the food package also contained our new products: cream and clarified butter. The latter is not even available in stores yet,” said Dmitry Sasinovich.
Every employee of the main enterprise, five manufacturing branches, eight agricultural sites and five production ones received gifts. How much each one cost is a trade secret.
“December is a magical month that inspires us to do good and work miracles... I believe that the administration and the trade union committee have managed to delight us with amazing gifts for the New Year’s Eve table like never before. The packages had everything one’s heart could desire!” Snezhana Sinitsyna, a chemical analysis assistant with the raw materials laboratory at OAO Slutsk Cheese-Making Plant, was bursting with emotions as she was evaluating the gifts from the enterprise.
The food set was especially luxurious.
“There are sausages for Olivier salad and for slicing and placing on the festive table, cheeses and much more,” noted Snezhana Mikhailovna, who has already invited friends to her country cottage and has prepared small delicious treats from OAO Slutsk Cheese-Making Plant as gifts for everyone.
“Traditions like this bring the staff closer together”
A video by a Belarusian woman whose husband, an employee of the construction enterprise DRSU No.135, received a New Year’s gift from his employer, has gained a lot of views. Both the woman herself and her subscribers were ecstatic.
“The gift is great! With a set like this, there’s no need to go shopping. Everything is delicious, fresh, and of very high quality. We eat it ourselves and treat our guests,” said Yekaterina Bobrova, an employee of the DRSU No.135 branch of the construction company Minskobldorstroy. The company is located in the agrotown of Zayamnoe, not far from Stolbtsy in Minsk Oblast.
The New Year’s gift is quite heavy, the woman assures us: about 14kg. Inside are six loaves of sausage, two kilograms of minced meat, two kilograms of sausages, and two kilograms of shashlik, one kilogram each of pork hip and smoked pork loin. Plus 1.5kg of candy for the children. Apart from that, every employee received a bonus of Br100.
“Our company has been giving out these wonderful New Year’s gifts for seven years now,” continues Yekaterina Bobrova. “Everyone is very grateful to the management and, of course, posts videos on social media. Many take it for granted, as an integral part of their salary. You could say it’s a mandatory bonus.”
At the DRSU No.135 branch of Minskobldorstroy Company gastronomic gifts are given on Road Workers’ Day and ahead of New Year’s celebrations. On 8 March and 23 February cash bonuses are usually offered. Ahead of New Year’s celebrations even employees, who retired but remained in the trade union, received the same food packages. Large bags were delivered to their homes. This provision is part of the collective bargain agreement.
“I think that such care for employees on the part of the management resonates in people’s hearts. Everyone tries to work harder and values their job. Apart from that, such traditions bring the worker collective closer together.”
“No need to rush to the shops”
A video of a female employee of the agricultural enterprise KSUP Yodki-Agro with a New Year’s food package has caused quite a stir, with people praising the management and noting that the gift was truly royal.
KSUP Yodki-Agro is located in Lida District, Grodno Oblast. It not only demonstrates success in crop farming and animal husbandry, but also care for its team.
“The enterprise provided a New Year’s table for every employee. Without exception, everyone from livestock breeders to the top managers receives food packages with a wide range of domestic products for the celebration. We are talking about some 200 people. The tradition was introduced by the former director of the enterprise and continued by the new CEO, who had been the deputy director for production at the enterprise before his appointment,” says Tamara Myslivets, accountant at KSUP Yodki-Agro. “We receive such sets not only ahead of New Year’s Eve celebrations. The head of the enterprise also gifts food packages on Agricultural Workers’ Day, for which the entire staff is very grateful to him.”
What was in the gift set?
“A lot of things. You don’t have to go shopping because it contains 2kg of flour, a 2kg bucket of shashlik, chicken schnitzel, pork knuckle with vegetables, smoked chicken breast, meat roll, two loaves of smoked and raw smoked sausage and one boiled sausage, a pack of bacon and smoked sausages. There are also five packs of butter and cottage cheese, four packs of Adygei cheese, 250 grams each, and three packs of sour cream,” Tamara Myslivets lists the content, adding that, in addition to all that, the trade union gives every child under the age of 16 a 1.5kg gift bag with Belarusian sweets.
“We get perfect gifts every year”
“Where is this wonderful place? I want to work there,” several TikTok users are already ready to get a job at OAO Dostoyevo after watching a video with a delicious New Year’s gift from the company.
In response to this desire of Internet users Mikhail Omelchuk, occupational safety engineer and chairman of the primary trade union organization of OAO Dostoyevo, notes with a smile that there is no great need for personnel, but the agricultural enterprise is always happy to welcome people who are ready to work the land well.
“Festive food baskets for the New Year are our long-standing tradition,” he says, noting that they take the selection of products very seriously: only wholesome, tasty, and local products of proven quality are chosen.
Mikhail Omelchuk did not weigh the food basket himself, but he assures us that it is quite heavy. The Kommunarka chocolates alone weigh 2.5kg and they are all chocolate. This is a gift from the trade union while everything else is from the enterprise. And there is a large amount of cheeses: processed sausage cheese, semi-hard rennet cheese, meat delicacies and several types of sausage, lightly salted trout, a box of cookies and a bottle of sparkling wine.
“Everything is Belarusian, local, mostly produced in our oblast,” says Mikhail Omelchuk. “Brest Meat Processing Plant is our partner. We sell our livestock to them and we got some delicious sausage from them. Another treat is an assortment of cookies from Motol confectioners. They are not available in retail.
“We have ideal gifts every year. To be honest, we don’t need to buy anything else for the festive table because the company has already given us everything we need: meat, cheese, fish, champagne,” says Alesya Paripa, a machine milking operator at OAO Dostoyevo, happily listing the gifts and emphasizing that all Dostoyevo employees receive the same gifts regardless of their position. “Such care is very pleasant. Our management knows how to create a festive atmosphere.”
“Everyone in Ivanovo District says that we have the best gifts in the district,” Mikhail Omelchik notes with satisfaction. “OAO Dostoyevo develops steadily and dynamically, the results are high, this is why we can also reward our workers with delicious gifts. On other dates such as Mother’s Day and Father’s Day we gift cash certificates.”
The reasons for particular pride include the fact that in 2025 OAO Dostoyevo was added to the republican wall of honor for the first time. Local specialists are also the first in Brest Oblast to introduce a comprehensive precision farming system using specialized equipment.
By Aleksei GORBUNOV, Tamara MARKINA, Vadim KONDRATYUK, Svetlana KIRSANOVA.
Photos courtesy of the article’s central figures and from public Internet sources.
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