What was created by previous generations should not be destroyed, but rather used, developed, and modernised. This was stated by the President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, at a meeting with the ideological asset, historical and expert community, dedicated to the Day of National Unity, as reported by a BELTA correspondent.
"When I say that I am a Soviet person, it does not mean that I accept everything that was," the head of state noted.
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According to him, he thereby emphasises that he does not renounce the past, including his own. "As a Soviet person, I try to take all the best from it. And there was a lot of good. We stood on par with a world empire. And not a single issue was resolved without us. Sometimes we got involved where we shouldn't have," said Aleksandr Lukashenko. One example is the war in Afghanistan. "Perhaps some other options were possible. But we tore our shirts off... And went forward. Well, we went there. We returned ten years later. What did we get? Nothing. The Americans went there too, and also returned, getting nothing," the President remarked.
The head of state is confident that the Soviet experience can be partially applied to the economy as well. Especially since Belarus, during the Soviet Union, had a well-developed industry, agriculture, construction, and other sectors of the national economy. "And, becoming President, I made a note to myself that what was created before us should not be destroyed. It must be used, developed, and modernised," he stated. "As a Soviet person, I first and foremost tried to preserve what was created through incredible effort, through the incredible labour of our people."
Regarding the country's political system, the Communist Party has been preserved since Soviet times, and its leader attended the event. Alexander Lukashenko said that he respects modern communists who maintain continuity and draw on their history and past. In addition to the party, a youth movement has also been preserved from previous times, based on the experience of the Soviet Komsomol, but modernized and adapted to current realities. Alexander Lukashenko noted that there are now many organizations within this movement, and they are scattered. However, they cannot be artificially restrained; it is necessary to carefully work towards forming a strong youth organization. "We should not discard anything. But we need to define the main lines and directions," the President believes. For example, the student construction brigade movement and volunteering.
"We took the best from the Soviet past. I am sure (I remember from the elections) that you supported and continue to support such practices and policies," the Head of State concluded.