Belarusian banker's bold interview stuns many on social media
Photo: myfin.by
Solidarity has published an interview with Belgazprombank CEO Viktar Babaryka. The banker’s statements are strong and bold, many Bynet users think. This is really true for a person doing big business in Belarus.
“Thank you, Viktar. You have said something many people remain silent on!” people expressed gratitude in their comments.
The interview was quite long. Euroradio has selected the most interesting passages for those who have no time to read the full text.
About Belarus’ ‘economic miracle’:
"The state is trying to preserve what we had. Preservation is stagnation. It means death for the economy.”
"The economy of the future is the economy of personalities and companies, not the state.”.
"Unfortunately, the goal – enough food and drinks and nothing else – has not changed. We can approach it quickly or slowly, we can stop and get warm near a campfire. But these are low demands leading nowhere.”
About Belarusians’ indifference:
"Nobody wants to do anything here. This is not only fear. We are forbidden to act because we are getting punished. There is only one person who has the right to say what to do at any level.”
"Belarus is a country of learned helplessness. What does it mean? The term appeared in personality psychology at the end of the 20th century. If a person fails do to something and keeps getting reminded about it all the time, (“Do you remember failing at it?”) it turns into a complex.”
"Fear and punishment have never been motivation factors even in slave states. If I punish you for doing bad, I will not do anything. This is about us.”
About changes in the society:
"One generation is enough to build a helplessness teaching system. Free people knowing that they will not be beaten for what they say and do need to be born. People need to have the right to have their personal opinion and to make mistakes.”
"Learned helplessness is spreading this way. We do not know what will happen but somebody told us that Stalin did this and that in 1937…”
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“Actually, I am an optimist!” Viktar Babaryka commented on Facebook.
