Siarhei Chaly returns to "Belsat" with a new program

He told the TV channel what his new program will surprise viewers with, what is happening in Belarusian politics, and what the finale of the "series" we are currently living through will be.

— Since 2011, you have been the host of the program "Economy on Fingers," and since 2022 — "News with Chaly" and "Chaly: Economy," which aired on "Belsat" TV channel from 2019–2022. How do you feel about returning to our channel?

— Normally (laughs). In fact, this is a transformation of the program that was. The "News with Chaly" program ends in March. Essentially, it's a transformation of the news program, which will analyze all political events, but live.

— What is the running time of the program?

— Approximately 40-45 minutes. That means it will air every Wednesday after "Ab'ektyu" and "Studio" at 9:30 PM, and the main focus will be on analyzing political events in the country.

— How do you envision your audience?

— The main audience is those who want to understand what is happening. That is, we will not just tell "what," but explain "why" it all happens, what it means. We will look for simple answers to complex questions.

What defines the quality of an analyst? The fact that you don't have to constantly spin like a weathercock with new information. And, at least, I believe that my main competitive advantage is the ability to find those important moments that indicate a change in trend. They don't happen often. But then these trends work for quite a long time.

— And "Economy with Chaly" remains?

— Yes, "Economy" is a program with 15 years of experience. The idea arose to concentrate on things that are not included in it. That is, it's, largely speaking, a continuation. Recently, it seems to me, I even work more for them now than for us — explaining to officials what a foolish situation they have gotten into after all these events. Not even those of 2020, but after the unnecessary elections of 2025 — they will have to live with this same Lukashenka for some time. In general, I explain to them what all this leads to.

Belarus as a "series"

— Do you think they don't understand this?

— No, they, of course, understand all this up to a certain point. But every person wants to think that he is not a thief, he is not a scoundrel.

Everyone explains their presence there in one way or another to themselves. In fact, it turns out that it is much easier to hear certain things from the outside than to voice them yourself. Even if you guess them. My idea for the new program is to show the development of the situation in dynamics.

That is, the effect of a TV series is already working in Belarus. Many people remember some conclusions that were made earlier. They, mainly, rarely change, because for the most part they are correct. Sometimes they are adjusted, sometimes they evolve. But the main thing is to demonstrate the trends in which the country found itself after all these elections.

— In 1994, you worked in Lukashenka's election headquarters. What kind of person did you remember him as then?

— Now he is completely different. Firstly, all his personal qualities, good or those that once helped him, have long since disappeared. Secondly, he has become very lazy, this is quite clearly visible. Notice that his entire "modus operandi" now manifests as: do this for me, give me the economy, give me this, do this for me. And I have a job that means I'll just talk about world peace.

All his ideas ran out long ago, and he is actually already a brake even on the system he built.

What is the logical consequence of saying "do everything for me"? The question arises: why are you needed then? Accordingly, he needs to demonstrate that he is needed. And how to demonstrate? That means he needs to interfere with the decisions brought to him.

Lukashenka does this: let me fix it, let me come up with something there. How his "vanity projects" have diminished: once it was the NPP, and now it's actual trifles — calves.

Remember what Lukashenka started with in Belarus? With alcohol smuggling, then, you know, sugar from Cuban cane, and so on. In our country, people like to laugh, like showing about Khrushchev, about corn, and now these associations with Lukashenka. This is a recognizable trend for the older generation.

Exposed by the light

— And this story with the ban on turning on lights in cities in the evening... Belarusians started laughing...

— The situation with the lights turned out to be wonderful, because here we observe two very important things at once.

The first is that previously, there was a "fool's defense" functioning in the state apparatus. That is, if he came up with some stupid idea, they still managed to either put it on hold or rework it in such a way that it still brought benefit, not harm. Here, what happened was that his instruction could not be executed in any other way, because he named the hours when the lights should be turned on and off. Therefore, there was no serious leeway where something could be corrected. And secondly, again, it was a demonstrative execution of a completely stupid order. This was actually a demonstrative show for him, saying: you wanted this, you got the result; see what happens if you meddle here with your stupid ideas like this.

What was most important?

For the first time, the time interval between an idiotic decision and its obviousness — when everyone understood that it was stupid — was so short. It has never been this fast.

— What's generally happening with Lukashenka?

— Lately, he has become quite a predictable person. Unfortunately. We are witnessing the final act of a rather epic drama. The man thought he would be a historical figure. He thought he would enter textbooks like some Pilsudski. In reality, he will be universally cursed, and there is no way out for him, no way to mend his reputation.

Is the end near?

— Where do you think Belarus is heading in this "series" we are watching? Will there be a happy end, a joyful finale?

— Well, I don't know about joyful. I don't see a good outcome in terms of a reversal. I don't believe in any possibility at all.

Lukashenka cannot say that from this moment on we start living differently: we cancel everything, we cancel all repressions, we forgive everyone, we release everyone, and so on. This is simply impossible, because where the country and he are now is the result of all previous decisions.

That is, roughly speaking, this is the Kali effect [a goddess in Hinduism who embodies destruction and transformation. — Ed.] — he is digging this pit for himself further.

And I think it's impossible to get out of there now. The only question is how deep this pit will be dug and in what horrors, that is, in what ruins the country will remain after him.

— What scenario, in your opinion, awaits Belarus?

— There's a high risk that we'll get the Venezuelan option — but not in terms of kidnapping Maduro, but rather that the system there hasn't changed at all afterwards. Yes, Delcy Rodríguez [acting president of Venezuela. — Ed.] had to release a few political prisoners. Otherwise, it's roughly the same, only now we're not fighting with the US, but befriending them.

This is where I see the biggest threat now, because Lukashenka is still a departing product, a decrepit old man. But I'm just afraid that he might be replaced by people who will simply not have legitimacy, and that means staying in power will only be possible through pure violence. We could get an even worse option. Therefore, it's not about personalities — about removing Lukashenka, replacing him, or him fleeing somewhere — it's about, as in that anecdote, that "the whole system needs to be changed." The question is about its democratization, but the other matter is that this is not possible yet, as I said at the beginning, until they drink this cup to the bottom.

Why did they start repressions? To calm down — to destroy enemies. Now the problem is that you've seemingly imprisoned everyone, expelled everyone, found everyone, beaten everyone, but happiness doesn't come, fear hasn't disappeared.

The conclusion drawn from this is — hidden enemies must be sought. The secret police must work. That is, this system has no "reverse" reaction. It will dig deeper. Until it goes all the way through this path, it must start devouring its own — until they reach this logical conclusion of their path, I think nothing will happen.

"To return to clear the rubble"

— A personal question: how is life in emigration for you?

— I've somehow gotten used to the fact that everything I earned went to the casino's coffers. As they say: what did the Motherland give you? My Motherland took everything away. A completely different new life is happening here now. I left with one backpack, and accordingly, everything I have now is acquired, gained. I already have many acquaintances who are thinking: it would be good to get Polish citizenship. Fortunately, not much time is left.

I understand people; my own Belarusian passport has expired. But I still plan to return to clear the rubble that will remain after him.

Watch the program "Chaly. By the way" on "Belsat" channel every Wednesday at 9:30 PM live, or on the "Belsat News" YouTube channel.

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