Lukashenko on Orsha Linen Mill: this is a political enterprise… flax is needed everywhere

The President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, gave his consent to the appointment of heads of a range of large enterprises. In particular, Oleg Buyanov will now head the Orsha Linen Mill.

Addressing the new Director General, Aleksandr Lukashenko asked if he had any experience with the work of the enterprise.

“Yes, I studied all the materials on its work,” came the answer. “In principle, the enterprise is working quite efficiently, but there are distortions in some indicators. First of all, these are distortions in commercial activity due to the growth of residues ... There are problems with exports: those deliveries that were to Europe haven’t been compensated so far. Moreover, it’s necessary to work on the enterprise’s raw material base and in-depth processing of raw materials.”

“In short, will you be able to produce ‘gunpowder’ from a short fibre?” Aleksandr Lukashenko reacted with humour. “I’m hinting that we need to expand the produced range, not just traditional ropes, bags and fabrics. We need to take a broader look at what is in demand on the market today. I see you know the situation there and are not afraid of it.”

The Head of State noted that the Orsha Linen Mill is a native enterprise for him in many respects, but it’s not just about personal matters.

“This is a political enterprise,” Aleksandr Lukashenko underlined. “We have flax on our coat of arms. Therefore, I would very much like you to work actively there, not to look too much into others. But if you see how you can improve the situation in the resource base, I will be grateful to you. If this deals with export, then this is your problem. And we need to work with the Europeans. Do not think that here are the sanctions, and no one needs our fabrics. Flax is needed everywhere, from Russia to the south of us. Flax is not produced there. And the fabrics are good. So you just need to get organised.”

The President promised that after some time he would visit the plant, and he would have the opportunity to see the results of the work of the new director.