A former nation of 10 million has been thrown back in time to the population rank of 1970’s. The trend is serious and extremely alarming. The nation of Belarus, the quarter of which had been tragically whipped away by the woe of World War II, undergoes steady decline. According to the official web site of the president Lukashenka, Belarus has (-0,06)% population growth with natural increase in population of (-51,5) thousand. Total fertility rate in Belarus is very low with only 1.43 children born per woman. In Belarus 27.1% population lives below poverty line, the figure is even higher than in Russia (17.8%).

The picture gets even worse when one hears about a shocking drop in life expectancy for men to 63,5 years, whereas women’s life expectancy remains 75 years old. On the criteria of male life expectancy, Belarus occupies 120th place in the world out of 193 countries ranked, outscored by neighboring Lithuania (68.94), Poland (70.3), and frequently-compared-to Cuba (74.94), and followed by Ukraine (61.6), Moldova (61.12), and Russia (60.55). No matter what one sees on the statistic charts, he/she should not forget how Belarusan data comes to the statistical bureaus. Belarusan government with its invisible hand influences any piece of information, which is born in Belarus or leaves the country. So, who knows what actually kills Belarusan nation, and what the real figures are. Let’s figure out for ourselves.

1.Alcoholism

Alcohol addiction acquires steady growth in Belarus. As soon as Belarus became an independent nation, the alcohol consumption in the country had more than doubled since the collapse of the USSR. So did the consumption of vodka in specific. Alcohol is accountable for not only major earlier deaths in the country (alcohol poisoning causes more deaths than road traffic accidents, 18 deaths per 100,000 population as of 1998) and significant drop in male life expectancy, but also for major government revenues. According to the Ministry of Public Health Care, there are more than 253,000 alcoholics and drug addicts in Belarus today, a rise of 4.1% over the figure for January 2005. The total includes more than 169,000 male alcoholics, 6,000 women, and 57,965 who are registered drug addicts. According to the chief health official in this sphere, Uladzimir Maksymchuk, only 22% of residents of Belarus lead a “sober way of life,” 42% drink occasionally, 26% drink quite frequently, and 10% drink habitually (Narodnaya Volya).

According to a recent publication on Radio Free Liberty, a Belarusan sociologist Mikhail Zaleski, who specializes in the problems of alcohol abuse, had stated that if alcohol influence on male life expectancy is removed, the average life expectancy of a Belarusan man will increase by 7 years.

he societal alcohol psychosis is a result of “Lukashenka’s inability to address the problem”. Alcohol is an easy solution for a man to get away from depression, inability to be a bread winner for the family, and powerlessness to make a change in society. The problem becomes more apparent when one realizes how cheap vodka is in Belarus. It became even cheaper than in Soviet times if compared the price of alcohol in relation to the average salary. Moreover, alcohol production industry is booming in Belarus. In 2006 Belarus increased the output of vodka and liquors by 18.8% on the year in January-October. Loosing high revenues is not a solution for the government. In a state of dictatorship, having a weak and careless population gives a dictator a steady electorate, which would not rebel. Trying to put restrictions on the industry will result in the loss of Lukashenka’s popularity. Therefore, no alternatives to quit drinking are available.


2.Tobacco/Cigarette Smoking

Presently Belarus is a fertile market for cigarette/tobacco selling. With steady demand, Belarusan society’s number of smokes has increased by 18% from 1993 to 1999. Moreover, average consumption of cigarettes per an adult aged 15 years and older increased form 84 to 97 packs. According to the Human Development Report for 2006, 53% males and 7% females are estimated to be smokers. Teenagers in between 16 and 20 years old are smokers as follows: 30% of men and 4 % of women. As estimated, 37% of monthly income of smokers is spent on cigarettes. With a very low tax rate on cigarettes, the second lowest in Europe after Russia, Belarus predisposes its population to smoking.

3.Drugs

In contrast to alcoholism and cigarette smoking, drug abuse is a relatively new phenomenon in Belarusan society. Although new, the trend acquires steady popularity, especially among young people. Even though presently in Belarus 4,000 persons are officially registered in clinics for drug abusers, in reality, according to the Ministry of Healthcare experts, the closer approximation is 10-15 times higher than the official rates. The average age of drug abusers is 15-25 years, and the drug access rate is 50%. Females constitute 18.4% of the total number, half have criminal records, 70% are jobless, and 75% have no family. And the number of people in Belarus, ready to pay from $80 to $120 for 1 gram of drugs, is growing. The government seemingly noticed the trend and responded by building a new treatment facility for 20 people with drug addiction where the working specialists are underpaid and work mostly out of commitment.

Another angle of the problem is Belarus’ convenient location for drug trafficking and distribution. Belarus lies on the drug cross ways from Russia, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan to Europe with very vulnerable borders and shortage of the special technical equipment for detection and identification of drugs.

4.Diseases

The main causes of deaths in Belarus are diseases of the blood circulation system, which account for 53% of the total number of deaths, cancers (14%) and accidents, poisonings and injuries (12%). Most of the cancer incidences, including a sharp increase in thyroid cancer among children, are provoked by Belarus’ poor environment or high radiation rate due to the Chernobyl accident. Alcohol poisoning is on the shocking rise.

Aids/HIV infections prevail among 0.3% people (according to 2006 Human Development Report), mostly among teenagers in between 15-29 years old addicted to drugs. Youth Aids/HIV accounts for 74.9% of the total infected population. Therefore, there are 15,000 Belarusans living with Aids/HIV infection today. During 10 months of the year 2006, 628 people alone have been diagnosed with having an HIV. Also, according to Joint United Nation Programme on HIV/Aids, as of November 2006, 919 lethal cases were registered in Belarus among HIV-infected persons, out whom 74.5% were drug addicts.

5.Suicide

Suicide rate is one of the indicators of societal health. How healthy is Belarusan society?

According to the World Health Organization, Belarus occupies the third place in the world according to suicide rates raking with 63.3 suicide cases for men and 10.3 cases of suicide for women per 100,000 people. Outscored by Lithuania, which had occupied the first place with suicide rates of 74.3 and 13.9 per 100,000 people per year for men and women respectively, and Russia, which is second on the list with 69.3 and 11.9 cases of suicide for males and females respectively, Belarus is becoming one of the high risk countries to live in. The unfavorable demographic situation, characterized by the growing mortality rates, growing consumption of alcohol and drug addiction, directly contributes to the escalating number of suicides. Moreover, medics are alarmed by the evidence that 2/3 of suicides are committed by people with alcohol abuse problem.

6.Immigration

Somehow Belarus seems to scare away its citizens. Talented, educated people take their belonging and leave the country seeking for a better home. What makes them do that? Why do people leave their motherland and go to foreign countries to live?

Apparently, only in 2003 1,860 Belarusans were legally admitted to the United States as immigrants. The total estimate of Belarusian immigrants to the USA is between 650,000 and 750,000, according to Wikipedia on-line encyclopedia. Young Belarusans with radical ideas of freedom, with love and passion for Motherland just have no other choice but leave Belarus seeking political asylums somewhere abroad. Thousands of brains are leaving the country, fleeing the cage of mental torture. As a result, according to the Human Development Report 2006, as of 2005 Belarus has produced 1,000 asylees and 9,000 refuges that have fears of returning to live in the country of their origin. Why stay and be scared of speaking and hearing the truth, do drugs, drink, and commit suicide? Why die silently without a trace and a change in society?

When conducting my research, I came across a personally insulting and humiliating statement made by a young lady from Latvia, who openly claims that “Belarus is just a shitty place to leave”. When did Belarus join a list of “shitty” countries to live in? How is this “shittiness” manifested?

Among 70 world’s countries ruled by dictators, ranked by the United States’ Parade magazine, Alexander Lukashenka has taken a 14th place among them on 2007 list with his friend Vladimir Putin on the proud 20th place. Nothing is done to revive the nation, lift the spirit. The society has been put to its knees. It is being destroyed from the inside by a ruthless ruler who makes the existence of historic and original Belarus questionable, who has turned the country into a “shitty” one.


The nation has been put down on its knees not only by natural causes, but by a skilled manipulator of human lives. Nothing in Belarus escapes the all-seeing eye of Alexandr Lukashenka. Does he really not see what is going on in the nation? He, as no one else, knows how to play with human lives, knows how to give “illusive happiness” to people. That is why everything is available for human soul and brain distraction in Belarus. Ironically, but how can people accept and support their own torture, their spiritual decay? How difficult is it to subdue and govern the nation like that? Belarusans themselves do not want to make a change. They have become comfortable with having alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs in abundance. Who disagrees with the rules of the game may either leave or just die. Personal choice is up to everyone to make.

By Olga Berastejskaja