Veterinarian fled mandatory work assignment to Georgia, but returned to Belarus to change his passport
Stas Gagolka graduated from Vitebsk College of Veterinary Medicine, after which he was assigned to a collective farm.
Stas Gagolka. Photo: tiktok @gogolko.stas
Even an internship at a veterinary clinic as a surgeon's assistant, which the student got in his final year, didn't save him from the collective farm assignment.
In the collective farm, the young man was immediately appointed chief veterinarian. The work did not suit him and even shocked him.
"I was taking dead cows on a tractor and dumping them into a pit. My psyche almost broke down after a month of work — I started drinking at that moment."
Stanislau decided he couldn't continue like that for long, so he bought a ticket to Georgia and fled with 300 dollars in his pocket. However, he recently realized that his passport would soon expire, and he decided to risk flying back to his homeland. Gagolka was detained right when he was collecting his passport.
"At the passport office, I was detained, handcuffed, and taken to the station. There, the investigator asked me if I was aware that I owed money to the state. I replied: 'No, I'm not aware, how much?' And I owed eight thousand dollars for the college. The investigator himself was shocked by such a sum," the Belarusian recounted his experience.
As a result, Stas was released, asked to come to the Investigative Committee the next day, but he immediately returned to Georgia via Russia. Back home, a criminal case was opened against the young man (if a graduate does not complete their mandatory work assignment and refuses to return the funds spent on their state-funded education, the university or college files a lawsuit).
Now Stanislau jokes that he has 10 years left to obtain new citizenship, as he wouldn't risk changing his passport again under such circumstances.
According to his resume, in Georgia, he worked as a waiter in a nightclub, later as a casino croupier, and also looked for a place in the IT sector. But Stas's further plans include mastering grooming skills.
"It wasn't for nothing that I studied to be a veterinarian," the young man explains.