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MONEY AND PERSONAL RELATIONS RULE THE WORLD

Table 1 shows that the main driving force of Belarusian society, according to young people, is money and personal relations. Laws and the Constitution took the third and the fourth places respectively.

Table 1. What rules society ( as seen by young people)?*

* More than one answer is possible

Why don’t young people believe in the force of the law in this country? The plausible answer can be obtained from the below results of the polling concerning the application of laws by government agencies (Table 2).

Table 2. Are all people treated equally in Belarus?*

* More than one answer is possible

The survey results prove that the majority of the respondents believe no constitutional equality before law is being observed in Belarus today. Those who have money can easily circumvent law. However, only a few Belarusians have big money at present – 70% of the respondents stated that their financial situation had deteriorated in 1998, therefore, young adults are considering themselves exposed to various factors (Table 3).

Table 3. Percentage of answers to the question “Do you feel secure against: …” (%)

As can be seen from the table, most respondents feel left to the mercy of fate. Nevertheless, the crucial objectives of the national program “Belarusian Youth” adopted in 1996 is “state assistance and protection of political, social interests and rights of youth.” The State Committee for Youth was reported to do a great job in this respect. The survey, however, showed that most young Belarusians have not felt this aid and support so far and abandoned all hopes for it in the future.

At the same time, who would young adults ask for help if they have to protect their interests? Answers to this questions are provided in Table 4.

Table 4. The question: “You have lent money, and borrowers are not going to repay it, whom would you address for help?”*, answered by young people

* More than one answer is possible

Most respondents rely on themselves only. The results indicate that the youth is more likely to address a criminal group that to set hopes upon court or police.

The survey also shows that the majority of young Belarusians have lost faith in the efficiency of the law because of violations in this domain. Aside from this, such a situation provokes further attempts to break the law – dealing with criminals.

Law enforcers can make people be law-abiding, but no force can propel them to respect the law. This can be achieved only by authorities impeccably following the laws.