Key events in Alexander Lukashenko’s 30 years as the iron-fisted leader of Belarus
Key events in Alexander Lukashenko’s 30 years as the iron-fisted leader of Belarus
FILE - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko emerges from a polling booth after marking his ballot in a national referendum in Minsk, Belarus, on Nov. 24, 1996. The authoritarian leader this week marks 30 years in power as president. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Opposition demonstrators with traditional red-and-white national flags rally in Minsk, on Oct. 19, 1996, to protest Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s planned referendum expanding his powers. The authoritarian leader this week marks 30 years in power. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)
FILE – Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko shake hands after signing a union charter at the Kremlin in Moscow, on May 23, 1997. Lukashenko this week marks 30 years in power. (Vladimir Mashatin/Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko gestures while speaking at an election rally in the Republic Palace in Minsk, Belarus, on Sept. 4, 2001, before winning a second term. The authoritarian leader this week marks 30 years in power as president. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko takes the oath of office for a third term by placing his hand on the country’s constitution during his inauguration at the Palace of the Republic in Minsk, Belarus, on April 8, 2006. The authoritarian leader this week marks 30 years in power as president. (Nikolai Petrov, BelTA via AP, File)
FILE - A Belarusian honor guard carries a national flag during an official ceremony in Minsk, Belarus, on May 14, 2006. The authoritarian leader this week marks 30 years in power as president. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Riot police clash with demonstrators trying to storm the government building after a presidential election in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, Sunday, Dec. 19, 2010, after President Alexander Lukashenko is reelected to a fourth term. The authoritarian leader this week marks 30 years in power as president. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko gestures prior to a news conference in the capital of Minsk, Belarus, on Monday, Dec. 20, 2010, after being reelected to a fourth term. The authoritarian leader this week marks 30 years in power as president. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, second left, welcomes Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, second right, and then-EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, during a meeting in Minsk, Belarus, on Aug. 26, 2014. The authoritarian Lukashenko this week marks 30 years in power as president. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
FILE - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko walks to cast his ballot during the presidential election in Minsk, Belarus, on Aug. 9, 2020, during which he won a sixth term. The vote was denounced as fraudulent at home and abroad, with key opposition figures prevented from running. The authoritarian leader this week marks 30 years in power as president. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Protesters carry a wounded man during clashes with police after an election in Minsk, Belarus, on Aug. 10, 2020, in which President Alexander Lukashenko won a sixth term. The vote was denounced as fraudulent at home and abroad. The authoritarian leader this week marks 30 years in power as president. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Demonstrators carry a huge historical flag of Belarus as thousands gather for a demonstration against President Alexander Lukashenko at Independence Square in central Minsk, Belarus, on Aug. 23, 2020. The authoritarian leader this week marks 30 years in power as president. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko delivers a speech at the Palace of the Independence in Minsk, Belarus, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020, where he is inaugurated for a sixth term. The authoritarian leader this week marks 30 years in power as president. (Maxim Guchek, BelTA/Pool Photo via AP)
FILE - In this file photo taken from video released by Belarusian state-controlled ONT Channel on June 3, 2021, dissident journalist Raman Pratasevich reacts during an interview with Belarusian ONT Channel in Minsk, Belarus. Pratasevich was arrested after his flight from Greece to Lithuania was diverted to Minsk by Belarusian authorities in what Western countries denounced as air piracy. (ONT channel via AP, File)
FILE - In this photo taken from video released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on April 14, 2023, a Belarusian air force pilot speaks at an unidentified location. Russia says it has deployed tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, raising fears they could be used in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press rvice via AP, File)
FILE - In this image from video provided by the Belarusian Defense Ministry via VoenTV on July 14, 2023, Belarusian soldiers attend a training by mercenary fighters of the Wagner private military company who relocated from Russia to a location near Tsel, a village, about 90 kilometers (about 55 miles) southeast of Minsk, Belarus. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko played a key role in negotiating an end to a brief uprising against the Russian Defense Ministry leadership by Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary group. Belarus allows the mercenaries to relocate to Belarus in camps there. (Belarusian Defense Ministry via VoenTV via AP, File)
FILE - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attends a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council of the Eurasian Economic Union at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on May 8, 2024. The authoritarian leader this week marks 30 years in power as president. (Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Ales Bialiatski, the head of Belarusian Viasna rights group, stands in a defendants’ cage in court in Minsk, Belarus, on Nov. 2, 2011. President Alexander Lukashenko had ordered the release of several political prisoners with serious illnesses, but about 1,400 remain behind bars, including Bialiatski, a Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights activist.(AP Photo, File)
FILE - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko emerges from a polling booth after marking his ballot in a national referendum in Minsk, Belarus, on Nov. 24, 1996. The authoritarian leader this week marks 30 years in power as president. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko emerges from a polling booth after marking his ballot in a national referendum in Minsk, Belarus, on Nov. 24, 1996. The authoritarian leader this week marks 30 years in power as president. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Opposition demonstrators with traditional red-and-white national flags rally in Minsk, on Oct. 19, 1996, to protest Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s planned referendum expanding his powers. The authoritarian leader this week marks 30 years in power. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)
FILE - Opposition demonstrators with traditional red-and-white national flags rally in Minsk, on Oct. 19, 1996, to protest Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s planned referendum expanding his powers. The authoritarian leader this week marks 30 years in power. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)
FILE – Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko shake hands after signing a union charter at the Kremlin in Moscow, on May 23, 1997. Lukashenko this week marks 30 years in power. (Vladimir Mashatin/Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE – Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko shake hands after signing a union charter at the Kremlin in Moscow, on May 23, 1997. Lukashenko this week marks 30 years in power. (Vladimir Mashatin/Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko gestures while speaking at an election rally in the Republic Palace in Minsk, Belarus, on Sept. 4, 2001, before winning a second term. The authoritarian leader this week marks 30 years in power as president. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko gestures while speaking at an election rally in the Republic Palace in Minsk, Belarus, on Sept. 4, 2001, before winning a second term. The authoritarian leader this week marks 30 years in power as president. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko takes the oath of office for a third term by placing his hand on the country’s constitution during his inauguration at the Palace of the Republic in Minsk, Belarus, on April 8, 2006. The authoritarian leader this week marks 30 years in power as president. (Nikolai Petrov, BelTA via AP, File)
FILE - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko takes the oath of office for a third term by placing his hand on the country’s constitution during his inauguration at the Palace of the Republic in Minsk, Belarus, on April 8, 2006. The authoritarian leader this week marks 30 years in power as president. (Nikolai Petrov, BelTA via AP, File)
FILE - A Belarusian honor guard carries a national flag during an official ceremony in Minsk, Belarus, on May 14, 2006. The authoritarian leader this week marks 30 years in power as president. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - A Belarusian honor guard carries a national flag during an official ceremony in Minsk, Belarus, on May 14, 2006. The authoritarian leader this week marks 30 years in power as president. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Riot police clash with demonstrators trying to storm the government building after a presidential election in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, Sunday, Dec. 19, 2010, after President Alexander Lukashenko is reelected to a fourth term. The authoritarian leader this week marks 30 years in power as president. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Riot police clash with demonstrators trying to storm the government building after a presidential election in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, Sunday, Dec. 19, 2010, after President Alexander Lukashenko is reelected to a fourth term. The authoritarian leader this week marks 30 years in power as president. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko gestures prior to a news conference in the capital of Minsk, Belarus, on Monday, Dec. 20, 2010, after being reelected to a fourth term. The authoritarian leader this week marks 30 years in power as president. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko gestures prior to a news conference in the capital of Minsk, Belarus, on Monday, Dec. 20, 2010, after being reelected to a fourth term. The authoritarian leader this week marks 30 years in power as president. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, second left, welcomes Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, second right, and then-EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, during a meeting in Minsk, Belarus, on Aug. 26, 2014. The authoritarian Lukashenko this week marks 30 years in power as president. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
FILE - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, second left, welcomes Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, second right, and then-EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, during a meeting in Minsk, Belarus, on Aug. 26, 2014. The authoritarian Lukashenko this week marks 30 years in power as president. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
FILE - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko walks to cast his ballot during the presidential election in Minsk, Belarus, on Aug. 9, 2020, during which he won a sixth term. The vote was denounced as fraudulent at home and abroad, with key opposition figures prevented from running. The authoritarian leader this week marks 30 years in power as president. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko walks to cast his ballot during the presidential election in Minsk, Belarus, on Aug. 9, 2020, during which he won a sixth term. The vote was denounced as fraudulent at home and abroad, with key opposition figures prevented from running. The authoritarian leader this week marks 30 years in power as president. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Protesters carry a wounded man during clashes with police after an election in Minsk, Belarus, on Aug. 10, 2020, in which President Alexander Lukashenko won a sixth term. The vote was denounced as fraudulent at home and abroad. The authoritarian leader this week marks 30 years in power as president. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Protesters carry a wounded man during clashes with police after an election in Minsk, Belarus, on Aug. 10, 2020, in which President Alexander Lukashenko won a sixth term. The vote was denounced as fraudulent at home and abroad. The authoritarian leader this week marks 30 years in power as president. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Demonstrators carry a huge historical flag of Belarus as thousands gather for a demonstration against President Alexander Lukashenko at Independence Square in central Minsk, Belarus, on Aug. 23, 2020. The authoritarian leader this week marks 30 years in power as president. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Demonstrators carry a huge historical flag of Belarus as thousands gather for a demonstration against President Alexander Lukashenko at Independence Square in central Minsk, Belarus, on Aug. 23, 2020. The authoritarian leader this week marks 30 years in power as president. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko delivers a speech at the Palace of the Independence in Minsk, Belarus, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020, where he is inaugurated for a sixth term. The authoritarian leader this week marks 30 years in power as president. (Maxim Guchek, BelTA/Pool Photo via AP)
FILE - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko delivers a speech at the Palace of the Independence in Minsk, Belarus, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020, where he is inaugurated for a sixth term. The authoritarian leader this week marks 30 years in power as president. (Maxim Guchek, BelTA/Pool Photo via AP)
FILE - In this file photo taken from video released by Belarusian state-controlled ONT Channel on June 3, 2021, dissident journalist Raman Pratasevich reacts during an interview with Belarusian ONT Channel in Minsk, Belarus. Pratasevich was arrested after his flight from Greece to Lithuania was diverted to Minsk by Belarusian authorities in what Western countries denounced as air piracy. (ONT channel via AP, File)
FILE - In this file photo taken from video released by Belarusian state-controlled ONT Channel on June 3, 2021, dissident journalist Raman Pratasevich reacts during an interview with Belarusian ONT Channel in Minsk, Belarus. Pratasevich was arrested after his flight from Greece to Lithuania was diverted to Minsk by Belarusian authorities in what Western countries denounced as air piracy. (ONT channel via AP, File)
FILE - In this photo taken from video released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on April 14, 2023, a Belarusian air force pilot speaks at an unidentified location. Russia says it has deployed tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, raising fears they could be used in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press rvice via AP, File)
FILE - In this photo taken from video released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on April 14, 2023, a Belarusian air force pilot speaks at an unidentified location. Russia says it has deployed tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, raising fears they could be used in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press rvice via AP, File)
FILE - In this image from video provided by the Belarusian Defense Ministry via VoenTV on July 14, 2023, Belarusian soldiers attend a training by mercenary fighters of the Wagner private military company who relocated from Russia to a location near Tsel, a village, about 90 kilometers (about 55 miles) southeast of Minsk, Belarus. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko played a key role in negotiating an end to a brief uprising against the Russian Defense Ministry leadership by Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary group. Belarus allows the mercenaries to relocate to Belarus in camps there. (Belarusian Defense Ministry via VoenTV via AP, File)
FILE - In this image from video provided by the Belarusian Defense Ministry via VoenTV on July 14, 2023, Belarusian soldiers attend a training by mercenary fighters of the Wagner private military company who relocated from Russia to a location near Tsel, a village, about 90 kilometers (about 55 miles) southeast of Minsk, Belarus. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko played a key role in negotiating an end to a brief uprising against the Russian Defense Ministry leadership by Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary group. Belarus allows the mercenaries to relocate to Belarus in camps there. (Belarusian Defense Ministry via VoenTV via AP, File)
FILE - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attends a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council of the Eurasian Economic Union at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on May 8, 2024. The authoritarian leader this week marks 30 years in power as president. (Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attends a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council of the Eurasian Economic Union at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on May 8, 2024. The authoritarian leader this week marks 30 years in power as president. (Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Ales Bialiatski, the head of Belarusian Viasna rights group, stands in a defendants’ cage in court in Minsk, Belarus, on Nov. 2, 2011. President Alexander Lukashenko had ordered the release of several political prisoners with serious illnesses, but about 1,400 remain behind bars, including Bialiatski, a Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights activist.(AP Photo, File)
FILE - Ales Bialiatski, the head of Belarusian Viasna rights group, stands in a defendants’ cage in court in Minsk, Belarus, on Nov. 2, 2011. President Alexander Lukashenko had ordered the release of several political prisoners with serious illnesses, but about 1,400 remain behind bars, including Bialiatski, a Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights activist.(AP Photo, File)
Key events in the 30-year rule of Belarus’ hard-line President Alexander Lukashenko:
July 20, 1994 — Lukashenko is inaugurated as president after a landslide victory in what international observers say was the post-Soviet country’s first and only genuinely free election. He previously headed the parliament’s anti-corruption committee and was director of a state farm.
1995 — A referendum is held on replacing the national flag with one closely resembling one that Belarus used as a Soviet republic. It also returns the Soviet-era coat of arms, establishes Russian as the state language on par with Belarusian and gives the president authority to dissolve parliament.
1996 — Alarmed by Lukashenko’s increasingly authoritarian turn, thousands of protesters fill the streets in what became known as the “Minsk Spring.” The human rights center Viasna (Spring) is formed. Lawmakers gather enough signatures to petition for impeachment proceedings against Lukashenko, but Russia’s prime minister and other top officials convince them to drop the effort. Another referendum significantly expands presidential powers, restores the death penalty and extends Lukashenko’s presidential term until 2001. Lukashenko dissolves parliament.
1998 — Lukashenko orders U.S. and European ambassadors to vacate residences on a compound near Minsk. Washington recalls its ambassador in protest and Lukashenko is banned from travel to the U.S. and European Union countries.
1999-2000 — After Lukashenko calls for suppressing the opposition, four prominent critics — former Interior Minister Yuri Zakharenko, former Central Election Commission head Viktor Gonchar, businessman Anatoly Krasovsky and journalist Dzmitry Zavadski — are presumed dead. A top Interior Ministry official was arrested on suspicion of involvement, but Lukashenko ordered him released and the prosecutor leading the investigation was dismissed. Investigations by the Council of Europe showed that opposition figures were killed by “death squads” connected with the state. The scandal dominated Belarus’ political landscape for years. Also in 1999, Lukashenko and Russian President Boris Yeltsin sign a treaty on forming a “union state” federation.
Sept. 9, 2001 — Lukashenko wins election to second term.
Oct. 17, 2004 — A referendum removing presidential term limits from the constitution is approved.
March 19, 2006 — Lukashenko wins a third term. Protesters build a tent camp in a central square of Minsk, but police destroy it and arrest over 400 protesters more than a week later. One opposition presidential candidate is imprisoned for over two years and another is jailed for 15 days. The EU and the U.S. later freeze bank accounts of Lukashenko and members of his government.
Dec. 19, 2010 — Lukashenko is re-elected for a fourth term. After the polls closed, thousands of protesters tried to storm the Belarusian government building, breaking windows and doors. Seven presidential candidates and hundreds of opposition activists were arrested. Several of the candidates who opposed Lukashenko were imprisoned for up to 5 1/2 years.
2014-15 — Belarus hosts negotiations to end fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine.
Oct. 11, 2015 — Lukashenko wins a fifth term.
2018 — Seeking to reduce tensions with the West, Lukashenko appoints a reformist prime minister. Disputes arise with Russia over oil and gas duties, and Lukashenko accuses the Kremlin of trying to absorb Belarus.
Aug. 9, 2020 — Lukashenko wins a sixth term with 80% of the vote in an election that is denounced as fraudulent at home and abroad, with key opposition figures prevented from running. Huge protests break out over the balloting as well as Lukashenko’s dismissal of the COVID-19 pandemic as “a psychosis.” Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who ran instead of her jailed husband, flees to Lithuania. Authorities crack down harshly on protests that last for months in Minsk and other cities. More than 35,000 people are arrested. About 500,000 people leave the country, including significant opposition figures.
May 23, 2021 -— A passenger jet flying from Greece to Lithuania and carrying an opposition blogger is ordered to land in Minsk as it crosses through Belarusian airspace, with flight controllers citing an alleged bomb threat. Upon landing, the dissident blogger, Raman Pratasevich, is arrested, put on trial and convicted of organizing unrest stemming from the disputed election. Facing international outrage and further sanctions, Lukashenko threatens to flood the EU with migrants and drugs. Belarus later sends thousands of migrants toward borders with Poland and Lithuania, which block them from crossing.
2022 — Russian troops stationed in Belarus enter northern Ukraine as Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor begins. Belarusian forces do not take part directly in the war, but a Lukashenko-ordered referendum abolishes Belarus’ ban on nuclear weapons.
2023 — Russia deploys tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, raising fears they could be used in the Ukraine war. On June 23, Lukashenko plays a key role in negotiating an end to a brief uprising against the Russian Defense Ministry leadership by Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary group. Belarus allows the Wagner mercenaries to relocate to Belarus in camps there.
2024 — Lukashenko announces his intention to run in 2025 for a seventh term. He releases several political prisoners with serious illnesses, but about 1,400 remain behind bars, including Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights activist Ales Bialiatski.