Meet Belarusian dictator, Alexander Lukashenko, who is Putin's closest ally and helping him in the war in Ukraine
By Cindy HopkinsFebruary 21, 20237 mins read155 Views
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attends Russian-Belarussian talks in Sochi, Russia, February 7, 2020.
Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images
Alexander Lukashenko has led Belarus for 28 years, making him Europe's longest-sitting president.
He is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and has supported the war in Ukraine.
Despite supporting Russia, he has repeatedly denied claims Belarus would be dragged into the war.
See more stories on Insider's business page.
Alexander Lukashenko is the president of Belarus and a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on September 9, 2021.
SHAMIL ZHUMATOV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
In September, Lukashenko called Putin "his closest ally and strategic partner," Reuters reported.
Lukashenko has been in power for almost 30 years, making him Europe's longest-sitting president. A protester holding a poster with an image of the Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko with the words "Stop Calling Him President."
Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Some media outlets dubbed Lukashenko "Europe's last dictator" — though others argue that while he is a dictator, he might not be the last.
Source: The Economist
As one of Putin's closest allies, Lukashenko has also played an increasingly active role in the war in Ukraine in the last few months. Russian President Vladimir Putin (C) and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko (R) arrive at the Palace of Independence prior to their talks in Minsk, Belarus, on December 19, 2022.
Contributor/Getty Images
The visits have also sparked fears that the Russian leader will push Belarus to join a new attack on Ukraine. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attends the Second Forum of Regions of Russia and Belarus on September 18, 2015.
Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images
Lukashenko was born in the Vitebsk region of Belarus on August 30, 1954, to an unmarried mother — something he was bullied for at school. View of the old town of Vitebsk, Belarus, on June 24, 2019
Pierre Crom/Getty Image
Source: Telegraph
He entered the military at a young age and held several posts in the Soviet Army. He was also a member of the Soviet communist youth wing. An image of Alexander Lukashenko (R) in the 1970s.
The Republic of Belarus
Source: Al Jazeera
After leaving the military in the 1980s, he became the manager of a collective farm, which in Soviet Belarus was seen as a respectable job. Alexander Lukashenko in Hannover, Germany, on April 22, 1998.
Holger Hollemann/picture alliance via Getty Images
Collective farms in Soviet Russia were state-controlled and geared towards improving productivity and efficiency.
In 1993, Lukashenko officially entered politics after he was promoted to lead the Belarusian parliament's anti-corruption commission.
Source: The Week
In 1994, Lukashenko surprised everyone when he was elected president of Belarus with 80.3% of the vote, running on the pledge to "take the country back from the abyss." Alexander Lukashenko in his office one day before the presidential elections in Minsk, Belarus, on July 9, 1994.
Grigory Dukor/Reuters
Lukashenko touted himself as a simple man who understood the troubles of simple people, and many Belarusians called him "Batka," which means father.
Source: Telegraph
He has maintained his grip on power ever since. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko speaks in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on November 9, 2022.
Contributor/Getty Images
From his early years in politics, Lukashenko showed an authoritarian streak. In 1996, he changed the constitution to get rid of a parliament that was threatening to impeach him, and in 2004 he abolished provisions limiting him to two terms in office.
During a visit to a Minsk wheeled-tractor plant in 2021, Lukashenko countered a question about fair elections by saying: "I am answering your question. We held elections. Until you kill me, there will be no other elections."
Source: The Washington Post, Telegraph
But during the 2020 election, the leader faced strong opposition. Fearing that he might be toppled, he falsified election results and declared that he won 80.1% of the vote, giving himself a sixth term. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Yerevan, Armenia, on November 23, 2022.
Contributor/Getty Images
Source: Associated Press
This move sparked protests across the country. Thousands of people gather for a protest on Independence Square in Minsk, Belarus, on August 23, 2020.
Ulf Mauder/picture alliance via Getty Images
According to Politico, it is estimated that more than 35,000 Belarusians were arrested during this uprising, with thousands facing abuse and torture in police custody.
During the protests, Lukashenko attempted on multiple occasions to display a facade of strength, at one point releasing a video of himself stepping off a helicopter clad in a bulletproof vest while toting an assault rifle.
Source: Associated Press
The UK and Canada imposed sanctions against Belarus officials in late 2020 as a result. A protester holds a poster with an image of President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko in the Old Town of Gdansk, Poland, on September 4, 2022.
Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Source: The Wall Street Journal
But Lukashenko's friend Putin stepped in to help. In 2020, he extended a $1.5 billion loan to Belarus as a "gesture of support" and volunteered to send in Russian police to quash the protests. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin meet in Minsk, Belarus, on September 8, 1999.
Reuters
Russia also sent in Kremlin-linked journalists to change the way the protests were covered in Belarusian state media, per Al Jazeera.
Lukashenko's handling of the COVID pandemic in Belarus also drew widespread criticism and further calls for him to step down. People participate in the protest for freedom for Belarus in Cologne, Germany, on June 6, 2021.
Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Lukashenko called the pandemic a "frenzy and a psychosis" and told people to work on the tractors, drink vodka, and go to saunas if they want to avoid getting the coronavirus.
Source: The Washington Post
The leader has previously also jailed critics, election rivals, and journalists. Last year, the arrest of Belarusian journalist Roman Protasevich made international headlines. Roman Protasevich (C) before a briefing for journalists and diplomats organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus in Minsk, Belarus, on June 14, 2021.
Stringer/AFP via Getty Images
Last year, Belarusian authorities — citing a bomb threat that never materialized —diverted a Ryanair passenger jet and forced it to land in Minsk. Police officers boarded the plane and arrested Protasevich, who is known for vocally opposing Lukashenko's rule.
Protasevich is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of NEXTA, a news channel based in Poland that spread clips of mass protests against Lukashenko via the encrypted messaging app Telegram.
He was in exile in Lithuania until he and his girlfriend, Sofia Sapega, were dragged off the Ryanair plane and detained. Protasevich was later moved to house arrest. He stands accused of organizing riots and faces up to 15 years in jail if convicted.
The move drew condemnation from world leaders including the US.
When Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Lukashenko urged Ukrainians to "stop" confronting Russia and sever ties with their American "masters." Inhabitants of Kyiv, Ukraine, leave the city following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, on February 24, 2022.
Pierre Crom/Getty Images
"Stop! Shoo away these masters from over the ocean. They won't bring you any happiness," Lukashenko said in a speech to Belarus's top military officials. "As soon as they can't use you anymore, they will dump you at the junkyard of history."
Source: Al Jazeera
In the first few weeks of the war, Belarus hosted some 30,000 troops on Putin's behalf, 100 kilometers away from Kyiv. Soldiers from the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine go on a short patrol around their base near Ukraine's border with Belarus on October 31, 2022.
Ed Ram/Getty Images
Source: Politico
Lukashenko has not joined the war directly or sent his own troops into Ukraine, but he has allowed the Kremlin to use his country as a platform to train Russian troops. Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, second left, inspects Russia-Belarus joint military exercises outside Minsk on February 17, 2022.
MAXIM GUCHEK/BELTA/AFP via Getty Images
Russia held a series of military drills held on Belarus's border over the last month.
Source: The Guardian
Despite supporting Russia, he has repeatedly denied claims from Kyiv and the West that Belarus would be dragged into the war. Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko seen during the Informal Summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on December 26, 2022.
Contributor/Getty Images
In February, Lukashenko told reporters: "I am ready to fight with the Russians from the territory of Belarus in only one case: If even one soldier comes onto the territory of Belarus to kill my people."
"If they commit aggression against Belarus, the response will be the most severe, and the war will take on a completely different nature," he added.
Source: Reuters
Putin and Lukashenko have met numerous times since the start of the war. Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) greets Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko (L) during the welcoming ceremony in Saint Petersburg, Russia, December,20,2019.
Photo by Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images
In December, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov told CNN that his country's forces are preparing for the possibility of another Russian ground invasion— but via Belarus. Minister of Defence of Ukraine Oleksii Reznikov.
Volodymyr Tarasov/ Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images
Reznikov told CNN that Belarus is not a "friendly neighbor."
Source: Insider
Lukashenko said in December that the situation in Ukraine was "escalating." Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attends Russian-Belarussian talks in Sochi, Russia, on February 7, 2020.
Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images
"I would like to emphasize this feature once again: no one, except us, governs Belarus," Lukashenko said, according to remarks published by the presidential press service. "We must always proceed from the fact that we are a sovereign state and independent."
Editor's note: This list was first published in February 2022 and has been updated to reflect recent developments.
Read the original article on Business Insider
------------ Read More
By: [email protected] (Cheryl Teh,Sophia Ankel) Title: Meet Belarusian dictator, Alexander Lukashenko, who is Putin's closest ally and helping him in the war in Ukraine Sourced From: www.businessinsider.com/who-is-alexander-lukashenko-closer-look-at-the-belarusian-dictator-2021-5 Published Date: Thu, 16 Feb 2023 13:25:02 +0000
.png)
