In Belarus, the largest increase in prices for agricultural products among the member countries of the Eurasian Economic Union was recorded, despite the introduction of state price controls, notes one of the most popular Russian news sites “Lenta”.

In an article entitled “Belarus introduced state price regulation and became a leader in their growth,” Lenta cites a report published on Tuesday on the website of the Eurasian Economic Commission, according to which agricultural products in Belarus rose in price 19 times in February. 7% compared to the same period last year.

The next two places were Armenia, where prices for the same category of goods rose by 8.4%, and Kazakhstan, where prices rose by 7.3% over the same time period.

According to the cited report, prices in Russia and Kyrgyzstan fell by 4.6% and 4.8%, respectively.

“Last fall, the president of the republic, Oleksandr Lukashenko, instructed the government to introduce price controls. The measure provided for the regulation of possible growth levels for each category of goods and the responsibility of suppliers and sellers for violations of these rules,” Lenta reminds.

Russian journalists also note that this week “Ukrainian potatoes were seen on sale in a store in Minsk”, but earlier a Belarusian government official said that the vegetables were actually imported from Pakistan, and a mistake about their origin crept into the labels.

How Lukashenko banned price increases in Belarus

The Minsk dictator signed the decree prohibiting price increases in Belarus on October 6 last year.

“From today, any price increase is prohibited. It is forbidden!” Lukashenko declared at the government meeting. “Start today – not tomorrow, but today, so that prices cannot be inflated today,” he thundered.

Literally a day later, Belarusian public television showed footage of businessmen in handcuffs publicly apologizing for “deliberately raising prices.”

At a government meeting, Lukashenko warned that failure to comply with the decree would lead to the “immediate arrest and prosecution” of the guilty, saying that the “skyrocketing” inflation was unjustified.

Later in October, he said he agreed to higher prices on some imported products, such as coffee and bananas, “because they are not from us.” He advised Belarusians to switch to tea or milk instead of coffee.

“Who likes coffee, please! If the price of coffee has gone up, I’m sorry. I can offer you milk, tea. I don’t drink coffee, I’m alive and well,” he told those present at the meeting in the Presidential Palace in Minsk.

Economic problems for Vladimir Putin’s closest ally

Belarus declared a technical default in mid-July last year after the West imposed additional sanctions against it over Lukashenko’s support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Other sanctions have also been imposed against Minsk following a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests following the August 2020 presidential election.

The European Union does not recognize the results of these elections, in which the electoral authorities in Minsk awarded Lukashenka 80% of the votes cast, nor does it recognize him as the country’s legitimate president.

Oleksandr Lukashenko has proven to be Putin’s closest ally since the start of the invasion of Ukraine, allowing Russian troops to attack from his territory, creating a joint military force with Moscow, and recently agreeing to deploy tactical nuclear weapons on the territory. Belarusian

However, he did not send troops to directly participate in the war in Ukraine, which military analysts say is due to a number of reasons, some of which are related to the state of the Belarusian armed forces and opposition to such actions in Belarus.

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