Has Lukashenka Started Hiding?

The borders of the dictator's residences have disappeared from official maps, but they forgot to hide something important.

The plots of Aliaksandr Lukashenka's residences are no longer visible on the official Belarusian cadastral map. This means that it is no longer possible to find out what area they occupy and who they belong to.

Zerkalo tells us what exactly has disappeared and what is still visible (like, for example, the complex that was called the “biggest bribe” for the dictator and where he walked with the highest officials of other countries).

What kind of map is this?

In Belarus, every land plot that has an owner receives a cadastral number. Information about it is entered into a special register. The data from this register is displayed on the public cadastral map of Belarus. There you can see the exact boundaries of the plots, their numbers, intended purpose and the status of the boundaries.

Lukashenka's Office of Affairs

The Administration of Aliaksandr Lukashenka and the Department of his Affairs are located in Minsk at the address: st. Karl Marx, 38. There is a photo of this building on the website of his press service. The Museum of Modern Belarusian Statehood is also open inside.

However, the cadastral map does not show the plot in this place. There is no plot between the Aliaksandr Square and the President Hotel, only a dot with the address. When trying to look at satellite images, the Belarusian map shows very blurry outlines.

The Palace of Independence is also not the most secret object. On Lukashenka's website, it is called the “calling card of Belarus”, “the epicenter of active socio-political and business life” and “the cultural heritage of the entire Belarusian nation”.

According to the information, the official residence of Lukashenka and the museum of gifts to him are located there. The diplomat's website has a photo of the palace, the territory of the complex around it is indicated — 15 hectares and even the diameter of the largest coat of arms located in the palace. You can take a virtual tour of the palace or come on an actual tour “at the appointed time”.

But on the cadastral map, this place also looks like a wasteland. A building is visible on different layers, there is a point with an address, but the boundaries of the land plot are not marked.

“Aziorny”

Presumably, Aliaksandr Lukashenka permanently lives in the “Aziorny” residence, which is located in Astrashytski Haradok near Minsk. The dictator’s youngest son, Mikalai, studied at a school located nearby.

Back in the 18th century, this place housed the palace and park residence of the Tyshkevich counts, later an orphanage and a dacha for the commander of the Belarusian military district. According to Lukashenka, the estate was preserved, “they only made one extension”. “Of course, the territory there is a joy to behold, but for this you should thank me for preserving the territory and not destroying anything,” he said in one of his interviews.

Currently, there are buildings, sports grounds, a park, and a vegetable garden here. It was in this residence that Lukashenka received Vladimir Putin, actors Gerard Depardieu and Steven Seagal, and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

In 2020, TUT.BY reported, based on official register data, that the area of the site was 88 hectares. In the documents, its name was listed as “Official Residence of the “President” of the Republic of Belarus “Aziorny”. The land plot belonged to the organization “Dipservice” on the right of permanent use.

Currently, there are no boundaries on the main part of this territory. There are only four plots “for subsidiary farming”, as well as one for servicing a helipad, a transformer substation, and a cabinet control point. The addresses of all these objects include the words “official residence”, their total area is 3.2 hectares.

By the way, there is no blur on the satellite map of this residence. There you can see several buildings, a pond, and a forest.

“Zaslauye”

Lukashenka has been holding “informal” meetings at the Zaslauye residence since at least 2000. Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Medvedev, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and other politicians and officials have been guests there.

In 2008, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi pitched a Bedouin tent on the territory of this residence, and the General Contract for the construction of the Belarusian NPP was also signed here.

According to official data cited by TUT.BY in 2020, the area of the Zaslauye residence was 35.7 hectares. The land on the right of permanent use also belonged to Dipservis.

Now, according to the cadastral map, only the boundaries of two small land plots “for servicing an apartment building” and one “for operating and servicing a gas regulating station” remain in this place, the addresses of which mention “official residence.” Their total area is 0.85 hectares.

The vast territory around is not marked in any way and is blurred on official satellite images.

Residential Complex “Vostok”

Another interesting place borders the Zaslauye residence — the residential complex “Vostok”. The BELPOL organization called this complex another residence of Lukashenka in its investigation. According to the investigators, in the KGB documents this place is referred to as the “Vostok facility”, a government special communications line is installed there, and to get access inside, you need permission from Lukashenka's Security Service.

BELPOL called this building “Lukashenka's biggest bribe” due to the participation of private companies in the construction, as well as suspicious contracts for cleaning the houses erected there, which look like money laundering.

Now on the cadastral map you can see the boundaries of two plots for servicing the buildings and structures of the “Residential Complex “Vostok”. Their total area is 17.5 hectares. But the address is indicated vaguely — “Minsk district, 140 meters from the Zaslauskaye reservoir”. The work to establish the boundaries for this site was carried out by the Ministry of Defense.

Satellite images of this “residential complex” were not blurred, they show several mansions, a pond, paths, and two tennis courts.

By the way, it seems that this is where Lukashenka, Putin and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon drank tea and walked during an informal meeting in 2019. Lukashenka's press service then called the Zaslauye residence the scene. However, judging by the cartographic data, Lukashenka, Putin and Rahmon walked precisely on the territory of the “Vostok” residential complex.

Screenshot of the video from Lukashenka's press service

The images below compare the location of the bath complex (1), gazebo (2), sports and fitness complex (3) and bridge (4). The shape of the reservoir also indicates the similarity of these places.

It is likely that it is in the residential complex “Vostok” that has a carved gazebo, which the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev presented to Lukashenka in 2018. A very similar object can be seen on satellite images on Yandex and Google maps.

By the way, on Yandex maps there is one review of the “complex” “Vostok”: “I do not recommend walking near this place!” The visitor gave this object one star out of five.

“Drazdy”

Another residence of Lukashenka is located on the northwestern outskirts of Minsk, surrounded by a forest. It includes several dozen buildings, a sports complex, a swimming pool, a bathhouse, a cafe and a helipad. Judging by the footage of the official chronicle, in recent years Lukashenka has mainly been engaged in agriculture there: for example, harvesting potatoes, as well as melons and vegetables. Photos of the buildings hidden behind the Drazdy fence have not been published.

We have not found any data on how the boundaries of the plot of this official residence used to look, what area it occupied, and who it belonged to according to the documents. Now on the cadastral map, this place looks the same as other residences: only the boundaries of small technical plots with a total area of about 0.2 hectares are marked. At the same time, the huge space around is not marked in any way and is blurred.

By the way, several dozen sites associated with video surveillance in the “official residence Drazdy” are marked along the perimeter of the blurred “empty” plot. If you measure the area inside this perimeter, you get a territory of more than 100 hectares.

“Why an empty space?”

As a citizen of Belarus, a journalist from Zerkalo contacted the National Cadastral Agency with a question: why is the plot and the building of the Palace of Independence at 12 Pieramozhtsau Avenue not visible on the map of land plots?

— We have situations where areas may not be displayed, they are described on our website. The information could have been registered without coordinates, because not all the information was entered with the coordinates of the [turning] points, — the specialist explained.

— The map has a raster background, a satellite map. And there is a very large area blurred. Why?

— The raster background is provided by the organization BelPSHAGI (Belarusian Enterprise of Agricultural Aerial Photo-Geodetic Surveys — engaged in aerial photography, creation of maps and plans, as well as geodetic measurements. — Ed.) in the form in which they have it. There are certain objects "blurred". But why are they blurred — it is more correct to contact them, because they provide us [the background] in the form in which we and you see it.

— Well, did you find this plot [at 12 Pieramozhtsau Avenue]?

— Found it, there is a red dot. I see the address. But the land plot — I can’t tell by the characteristics. Because in order to check, you need the cadastral number. Well, yes, the plot is blurred.

— Is this a secret object or what? They give tours there. There is definitely a building there, but there is an empty space on the map.

— Well, why an empty space? Look, the plot across the road is also not registered. The information on the public cadastral map is presented according to the data of the real estate register. At the moment, not all information is registered with coordinates in the real estate register. Why — you need to look into each specific case. In order to look into it, you need to file an official request.

The cadastral agency assured that a full check will be carried out upon request. However, we will not know the results: only the owner of the plot has the right to see them.

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