For Belarusians, counting everything in dollars or euros is a matter of habit. This was stated by the chairman of the Board of the National Bank of the Republic Roman Golovchenko.
“Perhaps this is due to the fact that we border the European Union. In the same Russian Federation, by the way, this dependence is much less. Probably, this is more a factor related to our geographical proximity to Europe … we are in the family, for example, somehow we have already moved away from this. Maybe for some such large purchases as real estate or something else, the habit still persists, but I think it will take some time and we will get rid of being tied to some foreign currency more and more,” he said.
At the same time, he noted that this does not affect what happens to the dollar in any way.
“That is, this is something that is beyond our control. Everything that concerns the Belarusian ruble, our national currency, here we are completely sovereign and can independently manage our monetary unit,” Golovchenko said.
The head of the National Bank also stressed that the policy of devaluation pursued by the authorities of the country helps the population to gradually get rid of the peg to the dollar.
“It’s not for nothing that we completely untied all tariffs from dollars, the rental rate from the currency. It is well perceived, it has already taken root. And even all the widely used payments that used to be linked, now people calmly call in Belarusian rubles. No one is shocked by this. I think that it is a question of trust in the national currency,” Golovchenko believes.
In his opinion, “it will take a little more time and we will definitely get rid of this kind of mental attachment to foreign currency.”
Recall that for a long time in Belarus, some tariffs were pegged to the US dollar or euro. In addition, the population of the republic is used to recalculating prices in foreign currency, considering it more predictable and stable.
