Ryhor Azaronak discussed wages in Poland and Belarus on October 29, 2025, during his program "Azaronak. Directly" with military expert Aleksandr Tikhansky. The host claimed that despite sanctions against Belarus and large cash injections into the Polish economy from abroad, Poles and Belarusians have roughly the same amounts left to live on:
"People love to compare: 'Let's compare our wages with Polish wages.' Well, who's going to throw us 300 billion bucks just like that instead of sanctions? But the median wage, what's called 'after deducting all taxes and expenses,' let's say, for basic necessities — it comes out the same."
Ryhor Azaronak misused the term "median wage." It's not the amount left after deducting basic expenses, as he claimed. Median wage is an indicator that sits at the midpoint of all wages of employees in a specific group (in this case, the country's population) receiving wages. In other words, half of workers earn more than the median wage, half earn less.
This indicator is typically lower than the country's average wage. The last time it was calculated in Belarus was in May 2025 at 2,014 rubles, or about €590. In Minsk it was 2,483 rubles (approximately €730).
Even setting aside Azaronak's error in terminology and calculating based on what he actually meant, the claim is still wrong. For example, in Warsaw the median wage as of 2025 is 9,019 zlotys, or €2,112 — three times higher than for Minsk residents. After deducting taxes and mandatory contributions from both amounts, Warsaw residents are left with about €1,520 equivalent, while residents of the Belarusian capital have approximately €630.
Let's assume that the average Pole and Belarusian don't own their housing. Renting a one-bedroom apartment in Warsaw with utilities costs at least €760. In Minsk, rent for such housing starts at €240, plus utilities of €30-40. After deducting these amounts, a Pole living in the capital will have about €760 left, while a Minsk resident will have approximately €350 — half as much.
Expenses like gasoline, prices of which differ significantly in Belarus and Poland, won't substantially change the picture either. One hundred liters of fuel in Poland costs €140, in Belarus it's half that. But the leftover amount from a Pole's paycheck still exceeds the Belarusian one by half.
There's also an official standard that officials believe covers the most essential living expenses for an average person — the minimum subsistence budget. As of November 1, 2025, in Belarus it stands at 491 rubles, or about €143. In Poland, the standard is called the "Social Intervention Threshold," and for a person living alone, it amounts to 1,010 zlotys (about €230). If you subtract taxes, social security contributions and these minimum expenses from the median wage, a Warsaw resident will have about €1,290 left, while a Minsk resident will have around €500.