The state of affairs in Belarus is so tragic! Lukashenko's lack of leadership and his apparent arrogance are leading Belarus to a continuing decline without an end in sight. It seems that it's hard to even have hope in this environment; entrepreneurs often can inspire other people to start businesses of their own, promoting a healthy economy, but if thousands of the boldest of Belarus' are unable to maintain a business, largely due to this kind of ridiculous government control, then what hope does the rest of society have for improving their lot?

Well, I guess they do have some hope - become friends with Lukashenko.

I'd have hoped that in this day and age, people would finally have realized the value of meritocracy over nepotism; but that's primarily if they have a vision of the future that includes all the people of a nation. It seems that Lukashenko's vision is primarily for himself...

That's a hilarious example of the state-run "industry" - just buy the already manufactured item, put a sticker on it, and sell it for even more money. And the state-run enterprises, with their incompetent leadership, lose more and more money - where do they get their money in the first place? One has to speculate that if the money isn't coming from inside the country, then maybe it's coming from outside the country, perhaps by other nations with a vested interest in propping up Lukashenko, where they care not for the people of Belarus but rather for their own geopolitical aims, or simply Russian or Chinese entrepreneurs who see an opportunity to get rich quick because they presumably don't have to follow the same rules.

I guess that the news media is also beholden to Lukashenko and his cronies, and that there'd be a black market for goods because it sounds like people's wages are so low that they couldn't afford the marked up state-"manufactured" items anyway... But it must feel terrible to be in this situation, and even more terrible to feel powerless to do something that can change it...