Belarus Orders Undisciplined Agricultural Workers to Military Service Amid Harvest Season
President Lukashenko mandates military training for non-performing farm workers to enforce labor discipline during harvest.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has ordered agricultural workers who fail to meet performance standards during the harvest to be sent for military service, clarifying that the directive is intended to promote discipline rather than punish individuals.
Military Training as Labor Enforcement
On July 30, during a working visit to the Brest region, Lukashenko elaborated on his controversial decree. He emphasized that the move is not "to scare anyone or to simply replenish army ranks." Instead, he described it as an opportunity for workers unwilling or unable to fulfill their agricultural duties to be reassigned to "military-educational work," which entails physically demanding tasks in the armed forces.
"If you do not want to work on this job, we will test you on another. Normal, male and female work—in the army," Lukashenko stated.
The president framed this as a chance for individuals to "prove themselves in another job—a hard, masculine job." He dismissed concerns that this policy equates to mistreatment, explaining it as a measure to enhance labor and technological discipline nationwide.
Earlier, on July 21, Lukashenko had mandated that workers unable to perform their duties be sent "to the army and to the southern border" or to forestry work. This directive coincided with his orders to deploy special forces along the Ukrainian border, underscoring the government’s focus on strengthening national security and workforce efficiency.
On July 22, Dmitry Krutoy, head of Lukashenko’s administration, provided additional details. He indicated that these military trainings would last two to three months and be conducted under a "strictest mobilization regime" specifically aimed at the harvest period. He identified the target group as "negligent, delinquent workers, drunkards, loafers, and slackers." Krutoy stressed that service conditions would be "Spartan," offering a chance to improve physical fitness and correct behavioral issues through beneficial labor for the army.
This approach reflects Belarus’s broader efforts to enforce discipline within critical economic sectors amid geopolitical tensions and internal challenges to productivity.
