Opinion: 2022 is year of strong leaders

The year of 2022 can be called a period of strong leaders who failed to fall into pieces but continue guiding their countries further – as noted by Vadim Gigin, the Chairman of Board of the Republican Belarusian Znanie Society, in his talk with Alfa Radio

“These are Aleksandr Lukashenko, Vladimir Putin, Recep Erdogan, Viktor Orban, Xi Jinping, and Aleksandar Vucic with all the nuances, whose country has found itself in a difficult situation,” the expert explained.

Mr. Gigin added that Zelenskyy is completely different, “Why did people elect Zelenskyy? That was because he was Russian-speaking, he came from the south of Ukraine, and he promised peace. Ukrainians voted for a completely different policy than he began to pursue. In the beginning [of his presidency], Zelenskyy – while realising that Lukashenko was a popular politician in Ukraine – began to copy his behaviour. He was literally parodying him, trying to seem strong. However, no matter how much he is being promoted, no matter how many times his photo has been placed on magazine covers, he is still a PR product, an artificiality. Even those who were charmed [by him] understand now that this is an artificiality. This is inevitable, since a leader is known by deeds and actions.”