Rulers of Belarus: Appearance after mysterious absence of Lukashenko

A state affair surrounded by taboo and mystery: the Minsk ruler has not appeared in public for days. Now the ruler has reappeared – on state television. But speculation about his health remains.

Alexandr Lukashenko is apparently ill. This is supported by the fact that the Belarusian ruler, contrary to his usual practice, did not appear in public from Tuesday to Monday. Statements by a Russian member of parliament also indicated this. “There is nothing supernatural there, it’s not Covid,” said Konstantin Zatulin of the Duma Committee on Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs on speculation about Lukashenko’s health. “People are just sick. Although the man was ill, he considered it his duty to come to Moscow,” the deputy continued. Because Lukashenko’s penultimate appearance was on May 9th at the military parade on “Victory Day” in World War II on Red Square in Moscow.

Pictures from the event show Lukashenko was wearing a bandage around his right hand. He followed the parade with the host, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and six other heads of state and government from the post-Soviet space from the grandstand in front of Lenin’s mausoleum. He covered the approximately 300 meters from there to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the Alexander Garden in an electric vehicle, which he apparently spontaneously asked Putin to use. Lukashenko did not attend a subsequent breakfast with Putin and the other guests. He later took part in the Victory Day commemoration in Minsk, but without delivering the traditional speech. After that, there was no performance for days.