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Belarusian High-Official Kochanova Mistakes Eight-Year Low for Record in Belarus-Russia Regional Cooperation
The Weekly Top Fake team checked the official's calculations.
The 11th Forum of Regions of Belarus and Russia took place in Vitsebsk, Polotsk, and Novopolotsk. Natalia Kochanava, Chairperson of the Council of the Republic of Belarus, described the results as record-breaking, claiming the total value of signed contracts exceeded previous years. The Weekly Top Fake team fact-checked the official's calculations.
Officials and business representatives from both countries convened for the Regional Forum, which focused on innovative development this time. On June 28, 2024, the state-run news agency BelTA reported on the event's outcomes on June 28, 2024, attributing the following quote to Chair Kochanova:
“The Forum this year has surpassed all previous records in terms of contract values. We approached the line of more than 1.1 billion Belarusian rubles, or 30 billion Russian rubles [almost $350 million — ed.]. More than 250 documents were signed on the sidelines of the Forum.”
Another state TV channel Belarus-1 disseminated the same information without citing Kochanova.
However, according to actual data, this is not a record-breaking result but rather an eight-year low. In 2023, at a similar forum held in Ufa City, Russia, the number of contracts signed was almost four times higher. Kochanova stated at that time:
“Contracts worth approximately 110 billion Russian rubles have been signed.”
In 2022, contracts worth $1 billion were signed, followed by $800 million in 2021, and $700 million in 2020. The total sum of signed contracts in those years was higher than in the current year, even extending back to 2017 when it reached $450 million.
