The faucet was leaking again, a never-ending chain of water droplets forming only to fall into the waiting mouth of the drain. It had been dripping all night. Belarus sighed. Maybe she should try to fix it or maybe call a plumber to fix it. Or maybe she should just leave it alone. Just one more broken thing in her crumbling apartment. Her utilities bill wouldn't increase that much, what with the government subsidies and all.
Belarus set an empty cup underneath the faucet and checked her fridge*, the one she had bought last year. Back when she was part of the crowd clamoring for supplies before the price increased even more.** She had bought a lot of things then, trying to get as much as possible before her precious rubles became worthless pieces of paper. The shelves of the fridge were heartlessly empty. Belarus closed the refrigerator and went through the cupboards. The only thing she had left in her kitchen were the preserves she had worked hard to make. A trip to the market was in order.
She sat down in front of her vanity and started to apply make-up, painting over any blemishes that appeared. Outside, the wind started, whistling through the streets of Minsk. It searched in vain for papers and things to toss around, but it was fighting a losing battle. Minsk, just like any other city in Belarus, was well-swept. The Belarusian landscape was beautiful. The cities were safe and clean. The grass was greener in Belarus, the food better, the parties more fun. Everything was better in Belarus, at least if you believed the state-controlled media.
Belarus added the final touches to her face and smiled at herself in the mirror. There, now she looked pretty. Beautiful even. But not to be touched. She was a fragile china doll, meant only for looking. It was all a pretense, everything. In Belarus, things were beautiful only for show. She donned a fur coat, something she had given up meals to afford, as she headed out the door in high heels.
The blank walls covered in peeling paint of the neighboring apartment building greeted her. She scowled at no one in particular and walked, keeping her eyes on the ground.
*Atlant© of course
**The Belarusian ruble suffered massive inflation in 2011. I think it was over 100%, but I'm not sure of the exact number. At the same time, salaries plunged. Not a good time to be a Belarusian.
I get the feeling that Himaruya didn't really research Belarus thoroughly when he made her. It seems like he just looked up the government, and that's it. Belarus has been under a dictatorship for more than 10 years now. Because of that, Belarus is pretty unstable. All dissent is oppressed. Human rights are ignored. The EU put up sanctions and whatnot to try to persuade the dictator that his current path is a bad one, but he doesn't seem to care. As a result, the EU has distanced itself from Belarus. Politicians don't want to hear about Belarus because the situation probably won't get better. There's no immediate benefit from freeing Belarus. Unlike Libya, who has oil reserves, Belarus doesn't possess anything spectacular. "What is so frustrating is that Belarus is two-and-a-half hours from London. People are being kidnapped, killed and tortured, but we are not seen. In Belarus, we are just people and nothing else. That's why Belarus is not sexy. No oil, no gas, nothing. No natural resources to offer the world; just people. This is why nobody cares."- Natalia Koliada. Of course, a lot of the problem stems from the fact that Belarusians seem to care more about economic stability and safety more than political freedoms. Because Belarus remained similar to the BSSR, its economy didn't completely fall like most of the other former Soviet Union countries. That has kept Lukashenka's (the dictator) popularity up. Of course, it's helpful to him that all the elections are rigged and unfair. So after the major economic crisis, his ratings have taken a severe plunge. He's still in power though because the opposition is even weaker than he is. They face a lot of problems, such as lack of coordination, oversight, and also the KGB. (Yes, Belarus is the only country whose secret police is still named the KGB.)
So anyways, I'm not sorry for making her OOC. I tried to incorporate some of Himaruya's original character design into her. This Belarus is a bit cynical but keeps most of her thoughts to herself. She's curt and brusque normally, although if pressured, she can try to be nicer. She's not so keen on a lot of her boss's ideas, but she won't speak against them either. I've read that Belarusian women spend a lot of time on their appearance.
