Jack, Cockroach, Potato Moose: Lukashenka’s Nicknames

List of nicknames of the Belarusian dictator.

Lukashenka has acquired many offensive nicknames over the years of his rule. The dictator has publicly resented some of them. Charter97.org tells how Belarusians call Lukashenka and why.

Cockroach

One of the most famous nicknames for Lukashenka is associated with the campaign of blogger Siarhei Tsikhanouski and the slogan "Stop Cockroach!" The opposition activist said the slogan came to his mind after a live stream with an activist from Hlubokoe Liudmila Boreyko. The woman told Kornei Chukovsky's fairy tale "Cockroach" on camera. This video became one of the most popular on the "Country for Life" channel.

In his election campaign, Siarhei Tsikhanouski used not only the slogan, but also a slipper, which he used to suggest that the "insect" be swatted.

It should be noted that Lukashenka was strongly offended by the nickname Cockroach. In June 2020, the dictator met with Brest activists protesting against the construction of a battery plant. The dictator publicly asked not to be called a "mustached cockroach."

"Sasha three per cent"

The nickname also emerged during the 2020 election campaign. Several independent websites conducted polls on who Belarusians would vote for in the election. Lukashenka steadily gained 3 per cent of the vote. After this "Internet sociology" was banned in Belarus.

However, the Streisand effect worked: the numbers that Lukashenka banned became a meme. "Three per cent", "Sasha three per cent" are nicknames that have stuck to the dictator. The figure that Lukashenka's rivals identify themselves with - 97% - has also become sacred.

Potato moose

Russian political analyst Valery Solovey, known for his forecasts and insider information, said on the air of Radio Svaboda that Putin does not like Lukashenka. Behind his back, the Kremlin head calls the Belarusian dictator Potato Moose. Since then, this nickname has been frequently used by anonymous Telegram channels.

Fentsik

The Ukrainian publication Informator claims that Lukashenka's grandfather is a war criminal, a member of the Russian Fascist Party, and the leader of the pro-fascist "Russian National Guard of the Chernorubashchiki" Stepan Fentsik.

Lukashenka's alleged grandfather wrote in his proclamations: "Our epoch has put forward fascism; fascism is a new, advanced, progressive phenomenon. Democracy is decrepit and bankrupt. Fascism, as a concentration of the people's forces, is replacing it winningly. Fascism is constructive. Its task is not to destroy but to build!"

Belarusians, who remember Lukashenka's words of praise for Hitler, picked up on the Ukrainian journalists' version. Various Internet websites have referred to Lukashenka as "Fentsik."

"Jack"

Ukrainian volunteer project InformNapalm published a document. It says that in 1987, dictator Lukashenka was recruited by the KGB (Committee for State Security) of the USSR as an agent under the pseudonym of "Jack". His tasks included "solving counterintelligence tasks in the Shklou district, Mahiliou region.

Lukashenka's "top secret" characterization says that the usurper is "extremely cunning," prone to intrigue and lust for power over those around him.

Blue-fingered

The nickname is related to Lukashenka's own statement.

"If I feel that you are strongly against me, of course, I will suffer. Nevertheless, you have to reject my candidacy in the election. And I have promised that I will not hold on to my chair with blue fingers. Believe me, it's not a soft chair," the dictator said in 2019.

However, after the rigged elections in 2020, Lukashenka spoke differently. In front of workers at the Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant who shouted for him to leave, the dictator said, "Until you kill me, there will be no other elections."

A number of Telegram channels use this very nickname when writing about Lukashenka. The dictator is also often drawn with blue fingers.

Rat

During the rally on August 23, 2020, the state media showed footage of Lukashenka flying in a helicopter over a Minsk avenue. The dictator saw the dispersing protesters and said: "They scattered like rats."

The Belarusians were quick to respond. At the next rally, hundreds of thousands of protesters chanted to Lukashenka, "You're the rat!"

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