We remember... Gennady Karpenko

AFTER THE REFERENDUM OUR PENSIONERS BEGAN TO EAT WORSE THAN PRISONERS IN TSARIST RUSSIA

Bankruptcy of the economic course of the government was visible in May 1996. Debts of industrial enterprises, collective farms began to rapidly pile up. Wage arrears increased by 100 billion rubles a month to reach the level of 1 trillion rubles. Foreign investors began to quickly withdraw their investment projects and programs in Belarus. They stopped giving loans to the government. Belarusian debt is about 1 billion US dollars.

That time the coming crisis could not be prevented but its deadly consequences might be softened. The authorities could do nothing with the economy. It became a secondary aspect of Belarusian politics. The President did not even want to discuss the economic state of the country at the sitting of the Supreme Council though according to the Constitution he must do it in the beginning of the year.

In order to conceal his helplessness and draw people’s attention away from very difficult economic problems he made a deliberate step to increase political tension in the country. That time the idea to hold referendum appeared. Its aim was to consolidate all power in one pair of hands, to get rid of any opposition and to prolong his term in office. Of course, strong political power is needed to carry our economic reforms.

However the tragedy of the Belarusian society is that the government did not have a program of economic development but it did not understand the processes that were going on in the society. To win the referendum the authorities did their best to slander the opposition, to fool people about the state of the economy and gave promises to raise pensions, subsidies, and scholarships. In order to win the referendum and get rid of parliamentary control over budget financial the criminal mechanism of cheating people was promoted. One of the ways to do it was to create presidential funds that were widely used to misuse budget money. Dozens of people with dubious reputation were hired to do propaganda from TV screens and on the radio. They lied and plotted many provocations. They openly offended those who held a different point of view. When the results of the referendum were implemented deadly silence and emptiness spread all over the country. Nobody knew what to do next. On the eve of the referendum the parliamentary fraction “Civil Action” tried to warn the authorities that adventurism in economy and politics would lead to serious consequences for the country.

I will not descend in this article to total criticism of economic and political course of the authorities. First of all it is impossible to criticize something that does not exist. Secondly it is senseless to criticize as nobody pays attention to it and ignores any suggestions. In such situation it is quite problematic to sit at a round table with authorities and discuss the ways out of the crisis. Nevertheless in order not to destroy the country, not to impoverish Belarusian people, such attempts must be made. I know that making such offers I could hear in return, “Well, you are going to deal with those …Well you decided to flirt with authorities”. But it is much better to listen to words of people who live in poverty and are full of despair. They live with hope to find the way out of the crisis and live in peace. These people say with reproach, “Intelligentsia stepped aside and does not want to work for its people and its country”. Weighing the two propositions I come to the conclusion that we must not leave people in need. We must tell them the truth and lead them out of the zombied state of mind. It does not matter whether the president wants it or not. We should offer him a discussion about the economic situation in the country.

Food prices are soaring and this problem is the most difficult to solve for many families. However instead of changing economic policy the authorities declared economic growth and made optimistic forecasts. It is just absurd. Today the level of consumption is sustained only at the expense of consuming savings, national wealth and debt creation. If such course is sustained during the next 3 years the country will plunge deep into poverty.

It seems to me that the syndrome of making promises and not keeping them engulfed leaders of our country. I was shocked by words of Chairman of the Price Committee of the Ministry of economy Mr. A. Gretski, “The price policy in the country is quite balanced. All in all we expect prices to rise no more that 315 for the whole year (1997)”. Why treat Belarusian people like idiots? We do shopping and see how prices went up just during one month. They grow very quickly. What about neighbors? We are leaders in this sad aspect. But we are convinced that prices are stable. Let’s look at the figures. Before the November 1996 referendum, food prices in Belarus grew by 131%, in Kazakhstan – 115%, Moldova – 110,5%, Russia – 115,4%, Ukraine – 116,2% and in Azerbaijan and Armenia – prices went down by 0,5 – 1%. In 1995 Belarus had the highest monthly inflation in CIS countries. In Azerbaijan it was 5,3%, Armenia – 0,3%, Kazakhstan – 4%, Moldova- 1,7%, Russia – 7,6%, Ukraine – 9,4%. Looking through almanac that gives information about food for prisoners in GULAGs I paid attention to the camps in tsarist Russia. If you take today’s prices you come to a dreadful conclusion that our pensioners eat worse that prisoners in tsarist Russia. Their pension is not enough to buy the products that were part of the ration for prisoners. These are not words of intimidation. Here is the daily food ration of a prisoner in tsarist Russia. Soup – cabbage soup (127.8 gr. of cabbage, 102,4 gr. of meat, 17 gr. of oatmeal porridge, 12,8 gr. of flour, pepper, bay leaf). Second course – porridge (136,3 gr. of buckwheat porridge, 21,3 gr. of lard). Black bread – 819 gr., tea. For dinner – porridge (72,4 gr. 8,5 gr. of lard), salt, tea. These numbers may be horrible but maybe the conclusion will make the president think where he is leading the country. Either we stop populism today and start reforming economy seriously or tomorrow our people will have as much to eat as a prisoner. Here are numbers that show “improvements”: bread – 450 gr., fish – 60 gr., potatoes – 250 gr., porridge – 50 gr., vegetables – 200 gr., vegetable oil – 9 gr., salt – 10 gr., a cup of tea.

All awkward attempts to tighten the grip over economy by prosecuting entrepreneurs lead to tightening the grip on the neck of ordinary Belarusians. It is like in the anecdote “when mother-in-law cut her finger, son-in-law in order to stop bleeding bandaged tightly her throat.” The outcome is easily predictable.

Gennady Karpenko,
Deputy Chairman of the 13th Supreme Council
Chairman of the economic Council
“Narodnaya Volya” January 29, 1997

Last weeks local authorities in Petrikovo tried to disrupt a meeting of voters with economists from Minsk. Here is another similar “operation”. One of the leaders of the United Civil Party (UCP) Gennady Karpenko was invited to Pruzhany. UCP organization there is quite strong. Its representative was elected in his constituency during the last parliamentary election. People in Pruzhany wonder why economic crisis in Belarus is deepening. They expected to get answers from Gennady Karpenko. However a day before the scheduled meeting the manager of the building where the meeting was to take place was called to the District Executive Committee. He was warned directly. If the meeting took place the Committee would terminate his license to do business. The owner of the building could not bear such pressure. But the meeting did take place. There were fewer people and conditions were quite uncomfortable. You see the place of the meeting had to be changed.

Vladimir Glod, “Narodnaya Volya” № 45 (167) March 13, 1997

It was Stanislav Bogdankevich who made a suggestion to make Gennady Karpenko a public leader, a leader of the opposition. His choice was correct. First, nobody challenged Karpenko. UCP Congress delegates liked the idea too. According to an anonymous opinion poll, he received the biggest support. Finally Gennady Karpenko received the greatest number of votes at electing the Political Council.

Biorgaphy of this man is quite well known. There is no need to retell it. We just want to remind people that Gennady Dmitriyevich is 47. He is a Corresponding Member of the Academy of Science, Deputy Chairman of the 13th Supreme Council, Chairman of the National Economic Council, which in fact is a coalition government. He believes that the struggle for presidency should start with working out the economic program, which should be ready by April.

“I think that many people in our country in spite of official propaganda began to understand that neither president Lukashenko nor his employees can offer an anti-crisis program. That is why our main trump card in winning support of voters will be our knowledge, ability to make a clear, comprehensible program of economic reforms. Today economy feeds only the president and his team, criminal structures via the “shadow budget”. The motto of our plan is “welfare to all and worthy life to everybody”. I can’t help reminding that in 1991 the quality of life was higher in Belarus than in Poland, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia and Ukraine. Both Belarusian and foreign economists thought that Belarus would manage to increase the gap and become even richer getting closer to Western standards. Alas, dull economists and economic policy threw us back. It can not go on like that any longer.

Vladimir Glod, “Narodnaya Volya” № 53, 1997

— Gennady Dmitrievich? Let’s start with some background: who are your parents and grandparents?

— All my close and distant relatives were born in Smolevich, Minsk region. Many of them are buried here at the city’s graveyard. I certainly visit their graves twice a year, bring flowers, and set straight fences. I meet my relatives who are still alive on memorial days there. Thus I have to be held doubly responsible – to alive and dead relatives. Some kind of spiritual clarification occurs, many new thoughts about my goals and sense of life appear, and you understand that the main thing is to deserve good words and to justify people’s trust. You distinctly become aware that so-called “common” people understand a lot. Yes, they are too trustful and they believe in odd stories that are broadcasted daily on Belarusian TV, radio, and published in state papers. But they see different things too – by words one life, in actions a completely different one and much worse.

My father was born in Ukraine. Unfortunately, all his relatives died in the war. In that way my small motherland is Smolevich and all my family background in the names of Rozum, Papkovich, Sheremet, Bukov, Luschik. I can compare only Victory Day with those other memorial days. Victory Day is my parents’, my family’s celebration – our saint day.

My father went through the whole war. After the war finished he worked at Minsk Motorcycle Factory, than at the Tractor Factory and at the Vavilov Factory at a thermal workshop. He is engineer-metallurgist. The highest position he ever took was the workshop’s chief. My mother, Vera Michailovna Rozum, was a partisan’s messenger during the war. She was arrested. They tortured her cruelly because she had not betrayed anybody, than they sent her to Germany, to a concentration camp. She came back after liberation and was ill for a long time. But this difficult life did not break her. She worked as a usual factory worker. She has always been and is a kind and responsive person. My parent got a one-room flat in the area of the Motorcycle Factory after the war. The house is old, it was built by German prisoners of war. My parents still live in this flat of eighteen square meters. Six of us lived there before: my parents, my brother, my wife and me, and our son. My mother joked bitterly: we live like in concentration camp.

— It is not common in our country to ask leaders of government about their wives. Perhaps, Gennady Dmitrievich, is there a moment for us to break this miserable tradition? If you don’t mind, let’s talk about your wife and children.

— We have been together for 29 years. We got married when we were students. We met each other by chance near a movie theatre. I appreciate that she lowered herself with all that hard work: her work, bringing up two children, and housework. She released me from many things. I try to repay her with my affection. She stays with me through happy and hard days. She never blames me for anything and never offends me. In a word, she is a true friend, and that is priceless to me.

— Tell me, are your children similar to Lukashenko’s? I mean, Lukashenko says: I sent my sons to study for a while in Germany, where they sleep on folding beds in a dormitory. And, Antonovich is so sorry for them, poor fellows. And then we find out that president’s son received a businessman’s car for his own use, has fun in a very expensive restaurant where drunk fights and shootouts take place.

— My older son, Dima, graduated from Belarusian State University. My daughter, Tania, graduated from the Economic University. We all lived in a four-room flat: my mother-in-law, my wife, our children and me, that is why they didn’t live on campus. As for restaurants, especially so expensive, where “New Russians” of Minsk get together, they are acceptable to my children neither by spirit, nor by money. Nobody presents them expensive cars and invites them to late-night bars. And that is good.

— Gennady Dmitrievich, everybody remembers how you left your high position of the member of Presidium of Supreme Soviet of 12th convocation, the head of Parliament Commission and went to Molodechno, where you were a mayor for four years. You were building a “city of sun” in that one region. The town became famous for its beginnings in economy, and for theater and song festivals. Social programs for students, veterans of war and labor, workers were far-famed. And suddenly you left the city. Why? Do you regret it now?

—One day the group of deputies of City Soviet came to ask me to come back to Molodechno and take the post of the head of the city executive committee and city council. There were 70 signatures under that request. Their request and signatures were an order for me. I did not have a right to betray their trust and expectations. Without hesitation, I came back to Molodechno. I started working. Let people judge the results of my four years of work there. I say: there were many good beginnings and I was able to do something. Than I left the town by my own desire. I think I made a good decision, especially thinking about the decision from today’s vantage point. I knew Lukashenko well when we were the members of Supreme Soviet and I was sure that his arrival into authority, as a man who is far from understanding the complicated economic and political processes, would bring nonsense to our life. There was no talk about serious work. I was absolutely sure: only one thing was of worth to Lukashenko – power for the sake of power. Everything came true but in abnormal, grotesque form. Now I follow all news from Molodechno. I am very sorry for veterans and disabled people who lack the authorities’ attention. By the way now I am also asked by people from Molodechno for help. I try to help them if I am able.

— You are from a usual family but you could achieve a lot by the age of 40. Many people do not achieve it even till the end of their lives. What helped you?

— First of all people with whom I happened to work. Many of them were my teachers. I learned persistency in work and determination in achieving an aim from them. Not always and not everybody understands them but they did not give up. Thanks to them my irrepressible, and sometimes, I’d say, “street” energy got polished and pointed at concrete aims. And, I won’t ignore, luck.

— Your life is not easy today. Seldom man is not jealous. I mean, you are constantly under the watch of special services, your phone calls are listened to, you were mocked during your sickness . There are gossips about numerous houses, hotels, stores in your possession in Minsk. And lots of other unpleasant things. Doesn’t it give rise to feelings of revenge?

— Honestly, I’ve never had such feeling. I am used to taking everything easy, understanding that the current authority just cannot act in a different way. These are its moral principles.

As for people with shoulder straps – KGB and militia - which are told to fulfill anti-constitutional orders, I can say only one thing. Many of them are unsure about what they are doing now, and they have begun to understand for whom they work now and that they will have to take responsibility for everything they’ve done. Time passes and this understanding can grow into something else.

— Last question. What concretely can you offer to people when you become the official candidate for president?

— We will build our own state, respecting our neighbors, and the whole world society. We won’t make decrees to beat women and children with batons, to throw people into prisons because their political views. Hitler’s order won’t be a model to imitate in the state. Human rights, and observance of laws will be the main priorities of our society. We won’t declare that we came for 12 years. We will do our best in order to improve people’s life in a short period of time.

“Narodnay Voly” № 124,
15 August 1998

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