Authorities spend Chernobyl grants on ideological projects

A Chinese delegation that arrived in Minsk to take part in the Belarusian-Chinese commission on trade and economic cooperation offered another “bribe” for the Belarusian authorities.

The information was revealed today by Belarusian deputy prime minister Tozik.

“The Chinese delegation gave Belarus a grant of 100 million yuans. It's about $16 million,” Tozik said.  

According to him, the grant was given as part of the programme to liquidate consequences of the Chernobyl disaster, but the money will not be spent on combating radiation.

Tozik said the grant and last year's grant of 80 million yuans (about 12m dollars) would be used to construct a “nice residence hall for Chinese and Belarusian students”.

“We will think about an interesting project to spend this grant on... We plan to build a nice hall of residence for 500 Chinese and 500 Belarusian students,” Interfax news agency quotes Tozik.