Suitcase, station, hundred bucks

How much will Belarusian authorities earn on introducing an “iron curtain”?

Every Belarusian crossing the border will have to pay 100 United States dollars for the so-called exit visas. In such an original way Lukashenka decided to teach the citizens not only to abstain from going abroad, but also to leave precious foreign currency in foreign shops, the Itogi magazine reports.

<>i“Our people take abroad up to three billion dollars and bring goods that we produce too. I gave an order up to obliging people pay an exit fee if they leave the country regardless of whether for these goods or not”, - he says. As an additional caution measure he issued a decree, according to which the Belarusian state will not pay a pension to the citizens working abroad. According to the decree, in order to get the minimal pension a Belarusian will have to work not less than 10 year in the country. The innovation will come into force from next year.

There is, of course, logic in these decisions. The soviet management system that is in place in Belarus demands the reconstruction of all the soviet attributes in the conditions of a tough economic crisis. An iron curtain is a necessary option, added to the dictatorship, deficiency and the black foreign currency market. All included, as they say. Who does not like it pay 100 dollars and go wherever they please, not counting on a pension. By the way, it only seems that the exit procedure a-la Lukashenka is softer than the soviet one. With the average salary amounting to $550 a month in Belarus paying $100 for going abroad turns out to be too much. But this allows for filing up the budget. According to the report, published by Belarusian Independent Institute for Socio-Economic and Political Studies, about half of the citizens dream of leaving Lukashenka’s state for good. This is over 4 million 700 thousand people. If everyone pays 100 dollars when leaving, the budget will get 470 million. The ruler will earn even more on not paying the pensions – the average retirement pension rate is $170 a month.