In March, Belarusian media reported the arrest of several prominent businessmen, among whom was especially close to Alexander Lukashenko, Yuri Chizh, the head of the company “triple”. It is often called the “purse” Lukashenko said. Why Yuri Chizh, who, along with Lukashenko planted potatoes and harvested the watermelons, was under arrest?
Court businessman
How to write Belarusian mass media, for two decades the first small business Yuri Chizh has grown to Empire. According to the Department of Unified state register of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs of the Ministry of justice of Belarus Yuri Chizh directly has shares in three companies. His main asset is LLC “triple”. The company was founded in 1992. Initially, the main activity was the wholesale trade of industrial and food products. Now is a diversified business. In addition, the “triple” has shares in authorized funds of several companies. We also know that Yuri Chizh were involved in the profitable business of selling petroleum products under the guise of solvents that were brought to the Belarusian regime a lot of revenue. The companies of Yuri Chizh have some major projects in the field of real estate.
The portal TUT.by notes that Yuri Chizh was the most effective and those who were engaged in the monetization of the benefits of being in the immediate circle of those in power. The Siskins will take place or already took the other. “But objectively this magnitude, and what did he have in these fifteen years, it is in modern conditions the, or in the future can no longer be maintained. Not achieve such results“, – the newspaper notes. Yuri Chizh was involved in almost all the seminal projects of this era: from the commercial development of Minsk to solvents-diluents schemes.
He lined up next to the President and together with him went out to mow the grass. His business Empire encompassed a few dozen industries. As noted by the Belarusian media, the detention of the KGB of one of the most influential businessmen of Belarus in the last fifteen symbolizes the end of an era in Belarus — era courtier of capitalism. At the moment Yuri Chizh is closed in the KGB prison.
Piglets for fattening
“Why The Swallow? Because we have always preached that, on the one hand, no one is untouchable, on the other hand, the Siskin was the court purse, which was received from the state all preferences at any business. This applies to both oil and real estate, other know-how from Chizh was not. It was a classic court business, which was to provide the shadow budget. And, apparently, money is neither the state budget nor in shadow. Therefore, Chizh”, – said the journalist Svetlana Kalinkina.
According to her, Belarus has a tradition of struggle against the oligarchs and crime in business is very simple: “you Take the big businessman, forced him to Deposit a certain amount of money and then release”. “Either put, take away business and then is also produced.
They are with us, the pigs for fattening. Therefore, in this case, when the Siskin will pay the required amount of money, it certainly will release it, but business Chizha really been a big problem,” says S. Kalinkina.
These problems began long ago, as Yuri Chizh started big projects, not enough money: “over a year ago, Lukashenko said that Chizh — almost a poor man. (…) Perhaps, indeed, with the money crisis, many oil scheme has ceased to be profitable, closed circuit delivery of petroleum products under the guise of solvents. Chizh have really had problems with money”.
And the versions of the incident there is no shortage: “Some say that a court’s business to become more actively display and hide the money, knowing that times are tough. Others say the debts. But really — this is the problem with the business. But since, by and large, business was not quite Canary, they witness such violence.”
S. Kalinkina believes that the businessman will lose their assets, repay its debt and will solve their problems, but that’s what will happen, is difficult to predict: “we Have further scenarios have evolved differently. Some were allowed to leave Belarus, and some were forced to stay here and work for the common Treasury”.
Why Lukashenko decided to get rid of your wallet? “I don’t think he decided to get rid of. Think he just decided to collect the money, and discipline these purses,” continues the journalist.
The General trend, according to S. Kalinkina, is to return to the taken out capitals.
“I guess he didn’t believe that this story can touch him. He really was very close, not only to Lukashenka, but to his sons. Middle son Dmitri he had a business. So I guess he didn’t believe. Why tried to leave — because there are a lot good enough for Chizh examples where someone who had time to leave, to sit abroad the storm itself, then the issue quietly resolved”, she said.
Some planted, others released
S. Kalinkina believes that all anti-corruption campaigns are a shade of populism. “And of course, one of their goals is to give the audience a spectacle. But I would not say that the attitude of Belarusians to this with great enthusiasm. If there were arrests of Ministers, members of the government, but these things are infrequent, and when there is enough closed. And then, in Belarus, this was a lot and often, and the campaign, when businessmen of the court, officials, first imprisoned, then released, the infinite. In this case, if we talk about the latest series of landings, including Canary, then she clamped down, in my opinion, the fact that Lukashenka dismissed corrupt officials, and appointed them to senior positions in the collective farms, in the factories”.
According to S. Kalinkina, the fate of a businessman solved 99%. Similar opinion is shared by Belarusian economist Leanid Zaika: “can you wait a bit, you’ll lose some business.”
A simple country boy
L. Zaiko Yuri Chizh describes as: “a Simple country boy from a small town”.
“Biographically, he’s about as Lukashenko, and I must say that Lukashenko prefers to deal with the same as he is. Not with the city, intellectuals and pundits. Therefore, Siskin began to work and earn money for the President. Not only directly, but also indirectly, for the financing of sport. Under this deal, he received a splendid tracts of land in the centre of Minsk, has built several houses. He has a lot of projects, especially projects with the import, resale of large quantities of goods,” he says.
“What we do Siskin is not a business. It’s just assigning profitable trades through the intermediation of politicians. And it is significant. General Chizh must be humble and a millimeter is nothing to do”, – the economist believes.
According to him, the rules of the game were simple: “You trust — you earn. Step left, step right — execution on a place. But he were allowed a lot. The money he earned is easier than any businessman, and they were given to him easier”.
However, at some point in time, Belarusian big businessmen are preparing alternate airports. “So the question, why now Siskin, you can answer: there are a lot of money, probably, he decided to dump them abroad, in order to live comfortably then. It’s all over. He was in the lists of restricted to travel abroad, and when Lukashenka received information that some of the money he “skrysyatnichali”, to put it in the rules of the prison of language, the acquaintance of the Belarusian authorities is not hearsay, it decided to put pressure”, – said Leonid Zaika.
Because the position of the Belarusian authorities in respect of the business is very simple, says Leonid Zaika: “If you’re just a businessman, then you have a lot of money will not, and if you’re a businessman in power, then you money will be, but you’re a guy, do not show off. The rules of the game is always good, but if you start thinking that you’re smarter than the President, they will be in jail,” – says Leonid Zaika.
In his opinion, part of Yuri Chizh withheld part of the money, and of the transactions carried out approval of their superiors: “the Guy probably did not calculate the forces did not know the story and did not know how to organize the escape.”
“In addition, we understand that the competition is, there are people who Chizh crossed the road. And these people are in different structures, which have some of the entrepreneurship Council, ending with the generals of the KGB”, – adds the economist.
How to react to the Belarusians?
Belarusians react to it well, says Leonid Zaika, “because Lukashenka is destroying the bosses and governors, by the sword cuts right and left. What people need that for him there is closed. People are happy that there is such a Robin hood,” he said.
There is an opinion that the current Belarusian authorities big problems with finances, and with the money of businessmen, they also want to solve them. This Leonid Zaika said that the money moves as for Lukashenko — funny: “It’s not the amount”.
