In an interview with Pozirk, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Advisor on Economic Reforms and Vice President of ABBA, Aleś Alachnovič, discussed how Belarus’s economic dependence on Russia impacts the country’s economy.
“Belarus is tied to the Russian economy, which has been stagnant since 2013. 65% of goods exports go directly to Russia, and another 20-30% go through Russian ports, railways, and its financial system to China, India, and other countries”, explained Mr. Alachnovič.
He noted that as a result, Belarus’ economy has been growing slower since 2012 compared to Poland, Lithuania, or Latvia. In 12 years, it has only added 5%, while neighboring economies added 40-45%. The advisor emphasized that the situation will not improve as Belarus continues to reorient towards the Russian economy, weakening its sovereignty.
“The regime has led itself into a dead-end by pursuing a policy of repression, orchestrating a migration crisis, forcing the landing of a Ryanair plane, and facilitating Russia’s war in Ukraine. In this dead-end, it can only cooperate with countries like Russia, North Korea, Equatorial Guinea – and these countries are not growing”, concluded Aleś Alachnovič.
As a positive example for the new Belarus, the economist cited Poland: “Poland trades with the EU, meaning its economy correlates with the world’s most advanced economies – more tech-savvy, wealthier, and democratic”.
