< p>Alexander Lukashenko, the absolute ruler of Belarus, marked three decades in power on Saturday. For 30 years, European leaders have come and gone by the dozen, but he has continued to control his country by silencing any dissent, reverting to Soviet-style economic controls and methods, and moving closer to Russia. But sometimes he also flirted with the West, writes the AfricaNews website.
69-year-old Lukashenko was called "the last dictator of Europe" at the beginning of his reign, and he lived up to that moniker. As head of state sandwiched between Russia, Ukraine and NATO members Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, Lukashenko was elected to his sixth term in office in 2020 in a vote many at home and abroad saw as rigged as is assumed to have received more than 80% of the vote.
The months of mass protests that followed were brutally quelled by a brutal crackdown that sent tens of thousands to prison amid allegations of beatings and torture. Many political opponents remain in prison or have fled the country of 9.5 million people. But the authoritarian leader defied Western sanctions and subsequent isolation and now says he will run for a seventh five-year term next year.
Russia, the big brother
Lukashenko owes his political longevity to a mixture of treachery, brutality and staunch political and economic support from Russia. More recently, in 2022, he allowed Moscow to use Belarusian territory to invade Ukraine and later agreed to deploy some of Russia's tactical nuclear weapons. "Lukashenko turned Belarus into a fragment of the USSR, dangerous not only for its citizens, but also threatening its Western neighbors with nuclear weapons," says independent political analyst Valery Karbalevich. He described the Belarusian leader as "one of the most experienced post-Soviet politicians who has learned to play both with the mood of the Kremlin and the fears of his own people.
He came to power with the promise to end corruption
Before Lukashenka was elected president, he was the head of the anti-corruption commission, where he made serious allegations and prepared controversial reports on senior government officials and pushed for democratic elections. Before that, Lukashenko was a former director of a state farm. He stood for election and was elected for the first time in July 1994, just two and a half years after Belarus gained independence. He promised to fight corruption and raise living standards, which have fallen amid chaotic free-market reforms. An admirer of the Soviet Union, Lukashenko pushed soon after his election for a referendum to replace the country's new red-and-white national flag with one similar to the one Belarus used as a Soviet republic. He also quickly strengthened ties with Russia and pushed for the formation of a new union state, apparently hoping to become its leader after a full merger.
Death sentences are still being carried out
Under Lukashenko, Belarus' main security agency retained its fearsome Soviet-era name, the KGB. It is also the only country in Europe that retains the death penalty, with executions carried out by a shot in the back of the head. In 1999 and 2000, four prominent critics of Lukashenko disappeared, and a Council of Europe investigation concluded that they had been kidnapped and killed by death squads linked to senior Belarusian officials. Belarusian authorities have rejected European demands to track down and prosecute the suspected perpetrators. "Lukashenko has never worried about his reputation," says Anatoly Lebedko, leader of the now-outlawed United Citizen Party of Belarus. "He delighted in calling himself a dictator and boasted that he was a pariah, even when he was publicly accused of political assassinations and other crimes."
Lukashenko keeps his youngest son, 19-year-old Nikolai, close to him at official events, fueling speculation that he may be grooming him as a successor. He maintains a tough guy image by playing hockey, skiing and other sports. After contracting Covid-19, he said he recovered quickly thanks to physical activity. But he has become noticeably less energetic in recent years amid rumors of health problems, which he denies. "I'm not going to die," he said last year. "You will have to put up with me for quite some time."