The youngest son of A.Lukashenko, 20-year-old Mikalaj, appears more and more frequently in the media. He is no longer a child who accompanies his father on official trips, but a person who has his own opinion and can even influence political events.
January 6 commenting on V. Zelensky’s words about A. Lukashenko’s apology at the beginning of the war, the press secretary of the Belarusian ruler stated that the conversation took place “only because of Mikalaj Lukashenko’s emotional reaction”. In addition, according to Natalia Eismont, V. Zelensky’s personal contact was on the phone of Lukashenka’s youngest son.
And if earlier Lukashenka himself called his son “the main oppositionist” in the family, Mikalaj called himself “an absolute copy of his father” in a recent interview with the state media. Does this mean that Mikalaj’s image is changing, his role is getting stronger and he is being groomed as a potential successor?
“Scanpix”/AP photo/Alyaksandr Lukashenka brought his son Mikalai to the meeting with Vladimir Putin.
Met with the Pope and placed on Canada’s sanctions list
Mikalaj Lukashenka first appeared in public space in 2008, when he was almost 4 years old – together with his father, he participated in the republican Saturday cleanup at the Minsk-Arena construction site. Later, A. Lukashenko admitted that this is his third son. The only official information about the boy’s mother is that she is a doctor. However, her last name in Belarus is a Polishinel secret. Now Iryna Abelskaya heads the medical center where the country’s leaders are treated.
A.Lukashenka took her son everywhere with her from an early age – on trips around the country and official visits abroad. As a child, Mikalaj met US President Barack Obama, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Pope Francis and other world leaders.
AFP/Scanpix photo/2016 Aliaksandrs Lukashenka brought his son Mikalaj to the meeting with Pope Francis.
in 2022 in June, Mikalajus graduated from school and entered the Faculty of Biology of the Belarusian State University, the “biotechnology” department created especially for him. Lukashenka Sr. said that this group was created together with Peking University, and Mikalai will receive diplomas from both universities.
During 2020 During the mass protests, sixteen-year-old Mikalaj, together with his father, appeared with a machine gun and all the equipment, and later participated in negotiations with Viktar Babaryka and other political prisoners in the KGB detention center. in 2024 in August, Canada added Mikalai Lukashenko to the sanctions list.
in 2024 In November, Lukashenka Jr. gave an interview to the state media, in which he stated that he is a complete copy of his father: “I cannot be in opposition to the state, to the head of our state, because I am a complete copy of him. Some people say that I am different from my father. But these people either don’t know me or they don’t know my father.”
Mikalaj now travels around the country playing the piano at concerts as part of the Unity Marathon, a propaganda campaign to support Aliaksandr Lukashenko’s candidacy for a new term.
“Mikalaj’s activity in the media is similar to repositioning”
Back in 2007 A.Lukašenka said that “if we talk about the successor, I am preparing the youngest – a unique person”. Recently, the ruler of Belarus has been constantly talking about the need for generational change. “It is necessary to prepare the young generation. Our children, who will take Belarus into their hands and protect it, will be appreciated,” he said while visiting the Lahoisk church on Tuesday.
AFP/”Scanpix” photo/Aliaksandras Lukashenka with his son Mikalaj in 2011.
In his dreams, he sees Mikalai as his heir and doesn’t hide it, I think Reform.news editor-in-chief Fyodor Pavlyuchenko. “Mikalai was taken all over the world from a young age, he used to meet world leaders. And now the boy has grown up, he is 20 years old, and his activity in the media seems like repositioning”, says F. Pavliuchenko.
According to him, Mikalaj is now going through a kind of transformation from a “teenage oppositionist” to an “absolute copy of his father”: “He is being repositioned as a copy of Lukashenka, as a person who can be a successor. This is a simple thesis that propaganda is able to hammer into the head of every Belarusian in 10 years.”
F. Pavliuchenko ironically calls Mikalai an “improved copy”: “Everything in Kolya’s life is better than it was with Lukashenko. Lukashenka’s entire policy is based on complexes, the desire to take revenge on the wrongdoers. And here we see that Mikalaj seems to know everything naturally as a man born to rule. And Aliaksandr Lukashenka is happy to play in this scenario.”
“Public Relations and Support for Father’s Campaign”
Political scientist Valerijus Karbalevičius believes that Mikalaj Lukashenka’s increased activity in the media is only public relations, part of the election campaign in which Lukashenka’s entire family participates: “Most likely, it is just a spontaneous reaction to the situation. An election campaign is underway, and even Kolia was given the opportunity to speak, to support his father.”
V. Karbalevičius does not think that it is possible to talk about any political plans regarding Mikalajus. “The question of the successor appears on the agenda when the government intends to leave. But Lukashenka is not going to retreat anywhere,” emphasizes the political scientist.
Wikipedia.org photo/Aliaksandras Lukashenka with his son Mikalaj during a visit to Ecuador in 2012.
In addition, in order to claim power, a person still has to occupy some serious position, which in Mikalaj’s case is out of the question. “Even if we look at the example of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev headed an oil company that played a huge role in the economy. In Turkmenistan, the son who replaced his father also held important positions before becoming president. And in Belarus, even the eldest son of Lukashenka, Viktars, heads the National Olympic Committee, which is essentially a public organization,” said V. Karbalevičius, noting that he does not see any moves towards the transit of Lukashenka’s sons.
“Caraitis, ideal for management”
However, F.Pavliuchenko believes that Mikalaj does not need public duties. According to his observations, “Lukashenka Sr. created a certain environment, a business, a whole clan around Mikalaj”.
“They will make him a tsarist, an anointed one, who is already given everything that many people achieve in a political career. Now his main weakness is his youth, there is a race against time to see how long Aliaksandr Lukashenka will be able to live before handing over power. And the fact that he and his father are very similar will give Mikalaj subjectivity and legitimacy,” he says Reform.news editor-in-chief.
“Scanpix”/AP photo/Alyaksandr Lukashenka and his three sons: Viktor, Mikalaj and Dzmitry
However, Mikalaj is not the only son of A.Lukashenko, his older brothers – Viktar and Dzmitryj Lukashenko – may compete for the role of heir. However, according to F. Pavliuchenko, they lack charisma: “When they appear in the frame, we see that they are not the best copy of their father.”
Source: www.15min.lt
