Unenviable Fate Of Lukashenka's Favorites

Someone is in jail, someone is under sanctions.

There are still people in modern Belarus who believe that the inner circle of Aliaksandr Lukashenka renders them advantages. UDF tells about managers of different levels, who ended up badly because of their proximity to the dictator.

Aliaksandr Shakutin

Holding Amkodor managed by Shakutin was developing quite successfully without Lukashenka's support. At a certain point, the businessman became one of the favorites. He often accompanied him at various informal events.

In the course of time. Lukashenka's "love" cooled down and Shakutin had to pay for his vicinity to the first person: sanctions were imposed not only against him but also against Amkodor.

In a recent interview, Shakutin acknowledged the problems:

"We've been under sanctions since December 17, 2020. We've had enough. All the people from the EU (from Amkodor's service centers) have already been fired.

Now the businessman is almost crying: "I haven't seen the president for four years!". Shakutin is going to sue the EU over the sanctions. However, it is hard to imagine that they will be lifted.

Yury Chizh

The businessman Yury Chizh, who played hockey with Lukashenka for decades, helped him pick potatoes and received various orders and benefits from the government, has an even more unenviable fate.

A few years ago, Chizh was detained for tax evasion. Then he was released without a conviction under the condition that he would compensate. But it failed. In March 2021, the door to the prison cell behind Chizh closed for long.

His business empire is crumbling and selling off. Chizh is preparing for trial. Rumors have it that he was charged under para 4, Article 209 of the Criminal Code (fraud committed by an organized group of persons or on an especially large scale). The punishment is imprisonment from 3 to 10 years.

Andrei Astashevich

Another member of Lukashenka's hockey team became first director of the Raubichi sports complex and then first vice president of the NOC thanks to accurate passes to Lukashenka.

In 2019, everything fell apart: Astashevich was accused of overpaying himself and some of his subordinates as director of the Raubichi Sports Complex.

Rumor has it that the manager was detained. If so, then not for long. He was released soon. However, it is a mystery what Astashevich does now. He is not in Lukashenka's entourage and does not hold any high-ranking posts.

Mikhail Zakharov

According to legend, it was Zakharov who taught Lukashenka to play hockey anew in the 1990s. Since then he was a favorite and accompanied the head of the country on all sorts of trips. For years, Zakharov was the informal leader of Belarusian hockey, was well-paid at the Minsk Yunost and became head coach of the national team several times.

But the last period of work ended in failure for the national team at the World Championship in 2021. Zakharov has been out of work and out of Lukashenka's inner circle ever since. The media write his jersey has been removed from the capital's arenas.

For a while, Dmitry Baskov took Zakharov's place in Belarusian hockey.

Dmitry Baskov

The young goalkeeper at first played for Lukashenka's team. Then became the coach of Mikalai Lukashenka. After that, he suddenly became a businessman and, with Lukashenka's consent, became head of the Belarus Ice Hockey Federation. It would seem the young executive was onto a good thing.

Everything collapsed because of the events of 2020. Although, one says "sports are out of politics," Baskov actively participated in pro-government rallies. Moreover, his participation in raids on Minsk courtyards, accompanied by security forces, during which white-red-white symbols were destroyed, was proven. Moreover, Baskov was present at the murder of Roman Bondarenko.

As a result, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) disqualified Dmitry Baskov for five years, banning him from participation in all international and national hockey events.

For the manager, who dedicated his life to hockey, it was a blow. His appointment to the so-called Council of the Republic, which is a formal and meaningless body in Belarus, could not cushion this blow.