Andreichenko: being a patriot means devotion for one’s home country and possible contribution to its development

To be a patriot means to love everything you have – the country, its people – while respecting traditions and history, Chairman of the House of Representatives Vladimir Andreichenko told the participants of the We are Citizens of Belarus! nationwide campaigning, held on the eve of Constitution Day countrywide and featuring 14-year-olds who are presented with passports in a solemn atmosphere

“This is our country, and we must be patriots. Before giving any assessments, we always need to think what we have done. We ourselves must do everything to make the country better and richer,” underlined Vladimir Andreichenko.

The Speaker recalled that the Constitution was adopted on March 15th, 1994, in the Oval Hall of the Government House, “We voted for it. The President spoke from this rostrum and took an oath. Aleksandr Lukashenko took over the country in 1994, when there was nothing on our store shelves. It was a very difficult time. However, the President immediately identified the development priorities of the Republic of Belarus: exports to earn foreign currency, food to feed people, and housing. The President then said that the country must be brought back from the abyss. Actually, the country was on the brink of an abyss. Thanks to the President, to him being truly a patriot of his country, we managed to bring the country back from the abyss, and today Belarus is a modern, independent state that is successfully building its economy.”

Vladimir Andreichenko once again focused the attention of teenagers on the importance of being a patriot, “Therefore, I repeat once again: we must love our country, our people, our traditions and, most importantly, make our contribution to the development of our country.”