In Minsk there is no litter, no graffiti, no homeless people sleeping on park benches and almost no crime or unemploymnt. The question is, what happens to a litterer, homeless person, or petty thief in this socialist paradise? No-one wanted to tell me, but someone did point out that, unlike Russia, the KGB is still in operation.

The country’s president, Aleksandr Lukashenko is a dictator: political opposition is not tolerated, but religious expression is, apparently.

Health care and education are free or at least cheap and almost everyone has somewhere to live – a 2 room apartment; almost everyone also wants to leave and those who can do. There are a few wealthy people, of course and everyone else is – not poor, since poverty does not fit into the socialist ideal – impecunious, all equally so.

In summary, Belarus serves as a model for the Arcadia that Fred Hiltz and his cronies are eager to construct.