Rymasheuski: My wife will be one of the best first ladies in the world!

– What is your ideal of a political leader?

– I think it is Ghandi. Speaking about the Belarusian reality, I can say that it is Kanstantsin Astrozhski. He is the politician whose example I would like to follow.

– What is your favourite book?

– My favourite Belarusian books are several books by Uladzimir Karatkevich including “Ears under your sickle”. However, I cannot say which of his books I like more. I just like Karatkevich. My favourite foreign writer is Saint-Exupéry.

– What is your favourite song?

– I really like songs by N.R.M. I can say that there are several of my favourite songs in every album. I also like Belarusian folk songs. Speaking about my musical taste, I should say that I do not like classical music. I used to listen to DDT a lot.

– How much bigger should the presidential salary be in comparison with a teacher’s salary?

– I cannot give you an exact answer but I can say that the salary should be adequate. Both the President and the teacher should have an adequate salary. We will work for the possibility to make a Belarusian teacher’s salary be comparable to a European teacher’s salary. And to the President’s.

– What is your attitude to sexual minorities?

– Could you please specify what you mean?

– Do you think they should be forbidden? Do they have to be punished for being gays and lesbians? Or should they be allowed to live their lives the way they like? 

– There are different sins. I am a Christian and I can say that buggery is also a sin.  It is the same as being a faithless wife or husband. It is a sin. I feel sorry for the people. Speaking about the state, I do not think the state should ever interfere in people’s personal life. No matter who the people are. Speaking about the values a state should be based on – every nation chooses its own values. Every people has something that is allowed and something that is forbidden. And the limits are inconstant. Every person should struggle for them in accordance with his or her views. As a Christian, I think that our society should be based on Christian values. Speaking about marriage I should say that marriage is a union of a man and a woman.

– How much money is there in your purse now? 

– I do not have one.

– Really?

– I don’t. I keep my money in my pocket. It is very safe and I advise it to you to: money has never been stolen from me – it is impossible to steal anything from the pocket of your jeans.

– Okay! How much money is there in your pocket?

– Shall I count it? I do not know for sure. I think there is about 50 thousand roubles. Or less. I have just come from the airport so I also have euro on me. About a hundred.

– How do you call your wife at home?

– I can use different names. But the usual one is Nastsya. And I call my daughter Eva.

– What is your most important family tradition?

– We always go to church together. We have been taking our daughter to church since she was three weeks old. It is an old tradition. Speaking about other traditions, I should say that I am spontaneous, I do not like planning. Especially my personal matters or life. Nasta is quite the opposite – she loves making plans. However, we spend vacations together and we spend evenings together at home. Unfortunately, I have not had many opportunities to do it in the last six months.

– What red days would you cancel or add to our calendar?

I would cross out all the communist holidays. The Independence Day should be celebrated in March; it should be the day when the Belarusian People’s Republic was founded. Chernobyl Way should also be marked as a day of sorrow. It should be marked as the Day of Gratitude expressed to the people who protected us from Chernobyl disaster. September 8 should become the Day of Belarusian Military Glory. It should not be February 23 like it is now, right? I do not celebrate it so I have already forgotten the exact date.

– How do you think, how much should vodka cost in our country?

– I would like to say that it should be more expensive, but I know that high prices for vodka result in an increase in home brewing and people get intoxicated anyway.

–How many close friends do you have and are they taking part in your election campaign?

– I have quite a lot of friends now. I do not even know how many. I have never tried counting them. But I am a happy person who has enough people to be open with. Many of them are taking part in my campaign. However, I did not ask anyone to do it for me.

– What polyclinic do you go to when you fall ill?

– I have to take my daughter there sometimes. Children have to go to doctors. However, I have not been to a polyclinic for three years. I do not think I should go there if I catch a cold. I would just waste doctors’ time. You can fall ill in our policlinics instead of getting better. There are sick and healthy people side by side. So I get by without medical assistance.

– Could you tell us a joke that comes to your mind first, please? 

– That’s a joke about elections and I think it is relevant now and many listeners know it. Lidziya Yarmoshyna comes to Alyaksandr the next morning after one more election and says: “I have two pieces of news – a good one and a bad one”. He says: “Begin with the good one”. She replies: “The good news is that you have won in an elegant way again”. He is surprised: “What is the bad news than?!” “The bad news is that nobody has voted for you again”. This is a very relevant joke. I often tell it to electors at meetings in the provinces. Many people do not know it.



– Why did you decide that you could become President?

– I am one of the few party leaders who have a great political experience.

– I understand that you have been proposed by your party. But you think: “I can rule the state because I have a great political experience”. Is that it? Is it the only reason? 

– It isn’t. I have a team supporting me. Actually, we managed to collect 100 thousand signatures and we are able to conduct our campaign now not because we are supported by Russia or the West. It is because we have support all over Belarus. There are people who will be appointed heads of the executive power, there is a team. There are people who can help and control. This is the most important thing for a president.

– Many people associate Lukashenka with stability. What can Vital Rymasheuski offer?

– Moral politics based on Christian values. A new vision of Belarus and a new concept of the Belarusian national politics.

– Vital Rymasheuski is elected President. Do you know who you will appoint Ministers and governors? Will you dismiss all the current Ministers? 

– I know. We will change governors and the executive power in the first place. I do not think all the people working in the ministries now have to be dismissed. For example, Latushka should at least work in the ministry if he is not allowed to remain Minister. He is still doing something even in the current situation. We will give opportunities to professionals and we will allow them to express their potential.

– You said you would appoint your own regional leaders in the provinces. Should governors and Mayors be appointed or elected?

– We think that all governors, Mayors and leaders of all levels should be elected. However, we need to come a long way to it. Of course, we would like to preserve maximum stability. We do not need chaos, we need gradual reforms. We need the executive power in this period. We will be limiting its functions as much as possible.

– What will happen to such state organizations as “White Russia” and the BRYU?

– It should be decided in court: are the organizations legal? Measures will be taken according to the court’s decision.

– What are you going to do to curb the inflation?

– We need to reform the whole economic system to stop the inflation and to increase the wages. We have a certain programme for it and I think that we will be able to realise it successfully in one or two years.

– What has to be done about the unprofitable enterprises surviving thanks to state subsidies now?

– They have to be privatized. I think it is a good practice to privatize enterprises on condition of providing 100% of their employees with jobs. They may have to be retrained so that they could work in some other jobs but we need to avoid an increase in unemployment after the privatisation.

– There will be enterprises that it will be impossible to save, they will go bankrupt. Do you have a programme for the people who will lose their jobs as a result?

– I do. It is transparent and simple: new jobs will be created when new enterprises open. We will give freedom to small and medium enterprises. To the people who will be able to give placement to the others. Small and medium enterprises – new plants will be built and opened in Belarus thanks to investments.

– I heard that if Vital Rymasheuski and the Belarusian Christian Democracy come to power, they will try to make Belarus a theocratic state. Can you comment on it?

– This is nonsense. Every attempt of creating a theocratic state is a failure. We are well-educated people and we know such examples in the history. Christianity is an approach that allows people having different views to coexist peacefully.

– What will happen to “Stalin’s Line”?
 – “Stalin’s Line” should be kept. However, its purpose will change and we will be able to bring all Belarusian monuments to Lenin and to other criminals there. It will be a museum of communist crimes.

– Does Belarus need assignment?

– It doesn’t. The assignment is the current serfdom for Belarusian students. It should be stopped. Furthermore, students are assigned like serfs in the Russian Empire – to the places where they can break down. Young guys and girls are sent to Chernobyl areas. They get very low salaries and live in very bad conditions. This practice should be discontinued.