More than a realist: Igor Tur told how Lukashenko makes political and economic decisions

Alexander Lukashenko was presented with a picture dedicated to logging. The canvas depicts a harvester harvesting wood, and a forwarder who loads it for transportation. The president’s reaction was the occasion for speculations about realism in politics and economics of ONT political observer Igor Tour in the new issue of the Propaganda project.

“My favorite style is realism,” Lukashenka said.

Tour believes that realism accurately describes Lukashenko’s approach to governing the country.

“Because it is both stylish and fully reflects the policy of Alexander Lukashenko,” he said.

The author of the project called realism the decision to preserve those elements of the Soviet heritage that continue to work, instead of mindlessly abandoning them for the sake of fashion trends.

According to him, this approach is manifested in the economy. We are talking about the gradual development of our own production and the abandonment of dependence on external investors, if this could jeopardize control over important industries.

“Realism in the economy is not to be tempted by other people’s billions, letting all sorts of bad capitalists into the garden, but rather to do their own thing for themselves,” said Igor Tour.

The tour also linked realism to honest conversation about income and personal responsibility. According to him, the state can create opportunities for earnings, but can not guarantee everyone the same result.

Separately, Igor Tour touched upon international politics. Any country acts primarily on its own interests, even if it publicly declares other goals.

“Realism in international politics today means that Americans coming to Minsk have their own and only their own national interests,” he said.

States can demonstrate a willingness to cooperate, but at the same time seek solutions that meet their own strategic objectives.

And I assure you, Lukashenko understands this perfectly, because he is more than a realist.

“On the basis of realism, the Head of State built a strategy to combat the coronavirus, the attempted coup in the country was also reflected on the basis of realism,” Tur said.

In his opinion, calls to limit the powers of the Belarusian authorities are not always associated with the consistent protection of the rule of law and democratic principles.

“Realism is a reasonable understanding that no supposed democracy is of interest to any collective West,” Tour said.