MINSK, 16 December (BelTA) – Preservation of the country and its historical memory should become the focal point of all the efforts of Belarusian people, Nikolai Shchekin, Candidate of Philosophy, Head of the Sociology of Public Administration Department at the Sociology Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, told BelTA.
“Speaking about democracy and freedom, we must not forget about preserving the country as the only guarantor of the nation’s integrity. On the one hand, the Belarusian society has been gradually coming to its senses and growing up. On the other hand, we are witnessing an increasing number of sophisticated and well-known methods aimed at splitting the Belarusian society by bankrupt political fugitives. The country is coming to realize that Western political correctness is based on double dealing and double standards. Aleksandr Lukashenko has once again demonstrated self-possession and patience, openness and respect for traditional Belarusian values based on constructive interaction with everyone who knows the price of peace and security. Neither progress, nor democracy, nor dialogue is possible without the unity of the nation,” Nikolai Shchekin said.
The scientist is convinced that the history of Belarusian state building has come to a turning point on the threshold of the new era. However, one should understand that both the upgrade of the Constitution and the holding of the Belarusian People's Congress are only a stage, the beginning of the forward movement. We have a lot of painstaking and often exhausting work ahead both to improve ourselves and to build a new Belarusian development model. The main thing is cost efficiency and safety. Preserving the country and historical memory should become the keynote of all the efforts of the Belarusian people. The head of state taught us historical lessons and gave us an opportunity to wrap our heads around the ongoing processes, putting on hold the emotions and clichéd public perception of the external ‘democratic utopia’. Prosperity is not measured by grants in the form of handouts for betrayal of the Motherland and visas to enter European countries. Thus, it is already possible to say that the country was saved from the historical abyss in which hundreds of states and peoples disappeared without a trace,” Nikolai Shchekin added.