Opinion: unfriendly states’ authorities restrict citizens’ travel to Belarus — without success

Neighbouring governments are doing everything in their power to dissuade their citizens from travelling to Belarus, but their efforts are failing — as noted by the Dean of the Journalism Department at the Belarusian State University and political expert Aleksei Belyaev in his talk with Alfa Radio, when responding to the Belarusian State Border Committee’s report that over 1 million foreigners have visited Belarus in three years of operation of the country’s visa-free regime

“Lithuanian authorities are trying various methods to make travel to Belarus more difficult for their citizens, yet despite these restrictions many Lithuanians have visited our country,” the guest noted. “All but two border checkpoints were closed, travel on foot or by bicycle was prohibited, in fact, the railway service has been shut down. However, over 600,000 Lithuanians have visited Belarus under the visa-free regime in the past three years against all odds. Then, there’s something that’s pulling them here. They share in social media — they go to Belarus for good products, cheap goods, praise for Belarus’ cleanliness, beauty and high comfort standards. The chance to get some cheaper petrol is another attraction as well.”

“Despite the unfriendly measures taken by Lithuania, Latvia and Poland our country remains open and welcoming to their citizens — please, enjoy your visit,” political expert stressed. According to him, some foreigners arrive in Belarus expecting to see poverty, only to be astonished by the abundance of goods and products — they can’t believe their eyes.

“I know Poles who assumed we’d have just one or two kinds of cheese, butter, and a few kinds of sausages. They’d been assured that they were visiting a poor country. Yet even in small border shops, they found a wide selection of goods. When they reached regional cities and finally the capital — it completely broke the mould of their expectations. They’d been told that people in Belarus live on a shoestring," he noted.

"On the one hand, foreign visitors come and see everything with their own eyes — on the other, Western countries continue to impose significant obstacles," Aleksei Belyaev concluded.