Alexander Lukashenko Trivia | 75 facts about the president of Belarus

Alexander Lukashenko is the president of Belarus since the establishment of the office on 20 July 1994.

Let’s find out some trivia and facts about him.

1. His full name is Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko
2. He was born 31 August 1954
3. He is a Belarusian politician
4. He has been serving as the president of Belarus since the establishment of the office on 20 July 1994
5. Thus, making him the longest serving and longest current serving European president
6. Before his political career, Lukashenko worked as director of a state farm (sovkhoz)
7. He served in the Soviet Border Troops and in the Soviet Army.
8. Lukashenko continued state ownership of key industries in Belarus after the dissolution of the Soviet Union
9. He retained important Soviet-era symbolism
10. This can be seen in the coat of arms and national flag of Belarus
11. The flag was adopted following a controversial 1995 referendum, which were based on the symbols of the Byelorussian SSR
12. Following the same referendum, Lukashenko was given more power with the ability to dismiss the Supreme Soviet of Belarus
13. Another referendum in 1996 allowed Lukashenko to further consolidate power
14. The Russian language was also given the same status as Belarusian
15. Economic ties with Russia were strengthened, which furthermore led to the creation of the Union State with Russia
16. This allows Belarusians to freely travel to, work, and study in Russia, and vice versa
17. However, relations with Russia have not always run smoothly under his tenure, such as during the Milk War
18. Lukashenko heads an authoritarian government and has referred to himself as the “last dictator” in Europe
19. Elections are not considered to be free and fair by international monitors
20. Opponents of the regime are repressed, and the media is not free
21. Leading to sanctions on Lukashenko and other Belarusian officials being imposed
22. His disputed victory in the country’s 2020 presidential election led to widespread allegations of vote rigging
23. These strongly amplified anti-government protests, the largest during his rule
24. Following the contested election, Lukashenko is not recognized by the United Kingdom, the European Union, or the United States as the legitimate president of Belarus
25. Although he remains recognized by a number of states including Russia, China, Iran, Armenia, Syria, Venezuela, and Cuba
26. Lukashenko was born on 31 August 1954 in the settlement of Kopys in the Vitebsk Oblast of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic
27. Starting with an interview given in 2009 Lukashenko has said that his actual birthday is 31 August
28. The same day as his son’s Nikolai’s
29. This caused some confusion as all official sources had said 30 August 1954 up until then
30. An explanation was later given that his mother had entered the hospital on the 30th in labor but not given birth until after midnight
31. His maternal grandfather, Trokhym Ivanovich Lukashenko, had been born in the Sumy Oblast of Ukraine near Shostka
32. Lukashenko grew up without a father in his childhood
33. Leading him to be taunted by his schoolmates for having an unmarried mother
34. Due to this, the origin of his patronymic Grigorevich is unknown and there are various rumors about who Lukashenko’s father might have been
35. The most popular version being that he was a Roma passing through the region
36. His mother, Ekaterina Trofimovna Lukashenko (1924–2015), gave birth to another son, Alexander’s older brother who died
37. Ekaterina worked unskilled jobs on a railway, at a construction site, at a flax factory in Orsha
38. Finally as a milkmaid in Alexandria, a small village in the east of Belarus, close to the Russian border
39. Lukashenko went to Alexandria secondary school
40. He graduated from the Mogilev Pedagogical Institute (now Mogilev State A. Kuleshov University) in 1975
41. After 4 years studying there
42. He graduated from the Belarusian Agricultural Academy in Horki in 1985
43. He served in the Border Guard (frontier troops) from 1975 to 1977
44. There he was an instructor of the political department of military unit No. 2187 of the Western Frontier District in Brest and in the Soviet Army from 1980 to 1982
45. In addition, he led an All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (Komsomol) chapter in Mogilev from 1977 to 1978
46. While in the Soviet Army, Lukashenko was a deputy political officer of the 120th Guards Motor Rifle Division, which was based in Minsk
47. In 1979, he joined the ranks of the CPSU
48. After leaving the military, he became the deputy chairman of a collective farm in 1982
49. In 1985, he was promoted to the post of director of the Gorodets state farm and construction materials plant in the Shklow district
50. In 1987, he was appointed as the director of the Gorodets state farm in Shklow district
51. In early 1988, was one of the first in Mogilev Region to introduce a leasing contract to a state farm
52. In 1990, Lukashenko was elected Deputy to the Supreme Council of the Republic of Belarus. Having acquired a reputation as an eloquent opponent of corruption
53. Lukashenko was elected in April 1993 to serve as the interim chairman of the anti-corruption committee of the Belarusian parliament
54. In late 1993 he accused 70 senior government officials, including the Supreme Soviet chairman Stanislav Shushkevich and prime minister Vyacheslav Kebich, of corruption including stealing state funds for personal purposes
55. While the charges ultimately proved to be without merit, Shushkevich resigned his chairmanship due to the embarrassment of this series of events and losing a vote of no-confidence
56. He served in that position until July 1994
57. Lukashenko has made several controversial statements during his presidency which have been regarded as anti-semitic, homophobic and misogynistic
58. Lukashenko describes himself as an “Orthodox atheist”
59. He has said that he believes that the president should be a conservative person and avoid using modern electronic technology such as an iPad or iPhone
60. He used to play the bayan, a musical instrument similar to an accordion
61. He has a pet dog, a spitz named Umka
62. Lukashenko married Galina Zhelnerovich, his high school sweetheart, in 1975
63. Later that year, his oldest son, Viktor, was born
64. Their second son, Dmitry, was born in 1980
65. Galina lives separately in a house in the village Shklow
66. Though they are still legally married, Galina Lukashenko has been estranged from her husband since shortly after he became president
67. In a 2014 interview, Lukashenko said that they had not lived together for 30 years and the only reason they had not divorced was that he did not want to traumatize his adult sons
68. Lukashenko has been seen on public occasions with various women
69. Lukashenko fathered a son, Nikolai, who was born in 2004
70. Though never confirmed by the government, it is widely believed that the child’s mother is Irina Abelskaya
71. The two had an extramarital affair when she was Lukashenko’s personal doctor
72. There has never been any public statement about who Nikolai’s mother is; Nikolai was raised solely by his father
73. It has been reported by Western observers and media that Nikolai, nicknamed “Kolya”, is being groomed as Lukashenko’s successor
74. According to Belarusian state media, these speculations were dismissed by Lukashenko
75. Who also denied that he would remain in office for a further thirty years, the time Nikolai will become eligible to stand for election and succeed him