Aliaksandr Lukashenka on Thursday appointed Maksim Lysenka as Belarus’ new minister of natural resources and environmental protection. Until now, the official had served as the ministry’s first deputy minister.
His predecessor, Siarhei Maslyak, was detained in March on suspicion of accepting a bribe.
Lukashenka also approved the appointment of Viktar Shchatsko as first deputy industry minister. He previously served as an adviser at the Consulate General in Kazan.
Aliaksandr Postnikau was appointed deputy transport and communications minister. He previously worked as deputy head of the transport department of the Council of Ministers’ Office.
While appointing Lysenka, Lukashenka expressed dissatisfaction with the ministry’s performance.
“I am, of course, concerned about the ministry’s work. And as a person directly involved in these issues, you bear responsibility for it. I usually do not appoint deputy ministers as ministers. If I, or society as a whole, am dissatisfied with the work of a particular agency, it means that not only the head is at fault, but also the deputies. In this case, however, I am departing somewhat from that practice by appointing you minister. But I cannot say that I am satisfied with your ministry’s work. Absolutely not. There must be order on the ground. That is the first priority. There must be order in nature. And there must also be results in other areas,” he said.
Lukashenka also demanded greater decisiveness from the new minister.
“You are the minister, and you must see everything. And not simply walk around with your head down, but demand results from the relevant people. This is the ministry of ministries. For you, apart from the president and the Lord God, no one else should exist. Otherwise, we will turn Belarus into a dump,” he added.
He also said that the State Inspectorate for the Protection of Animal and Plant Life could be transferred under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection. The inspectorate currently reports directly to Lukashenka.
“There is a proposal to place under your authority the inspectorate for the protection of animal and plant life, which currently reports directly to the president. I created this inspectorate in its time to restore order in the country. I was very concerned about the poaching situation. As people say, poaching was flourishing. Over time, however, another problem has emerged. I can see from information I receive, primarily through the media, that we now have so many animals that problems are arising on the roads,” he said.
He stressed the importance of maintaining the inspectorate.
“Gradually, as we agreed and as I instructed, we are not making any abrupt moves. Even if we see that something should be merged somewhere, there should be no absorption here. That is the first point. Secondly, we will discuss this issue further. There are many people both in favor and against it. Some object,” he said.
“There is no need for this structure to report directly to the president because there is order there. Yes, there are various incidents. Poaching still exists. There is no point denying it. But compared with other countries, including the so-called flourishing West, we have decent order here. But I emphasize once again: wherever this inspectorate is placed, it will continue dealing with its responsibilities. I will not retreat from that.
You know my attitude toward nature, wildlife and animals in general. Domestic animals and wild animals alike — it makes no difference. They should have the right to live. Everything must be done according to the law. If we have many animals, that is good. I know what hunters are like. They would rather go without food or drink than give up hunting, and they will hunt day and night. I know this very well. On paper, I am a hunter myself, but I have never killed or taken any game. As hunters say, ‘We do not kill, we harvest game.’ To me, it is all the same,” he added.
Continuing his remarks to Lysenka, Lukashenka reflected on the importance of nature.
“This is an extremely important ministry. As I often say, Belarus is an island of stability and, most importantly, of nature and love for nature. Our people have turned toward nature. Not everyone, of course. Things are never perfect. But people love Belarus, and they love nature,” he said.
According to him, social media users react sharply to tree-cutting, but it should be remembered that trees, like people, grow old.
Lukashenka added that earlier in the day Minsk City Executive Committee Chairman Uladzimir Kukharau had briefed him on the situation in the Miadzvezhyna forest park in the capital, where such a case had recently occurred.
“Sanitary felling,” remarked Lukashenka administration head Dzmitry Krutoi.
“There is no getting around that. But thousands upon thousands of saplings have been planted in that park. It is a good park for people. That is another matter. You must understand it, stay on top of it and approach it very carefully.
But those who damage nature — and we have many of them, especially in agriculture, whether slurry flows into a river or lake in spring, or something else happens, or poachers set nets or roam forests with weapons firing in all directions — that is unacceptable,” Lukashenka concluded.