The Unexpected Change In Leadership In The Vitebsk Region Has Raised Questions
3- 21.10.2026, 11:09
The Paradox of Lukashenko's Personnel Policy.
Alexander Lukashenko has dismissed the head of the Vitebsk Region Alexander Rogozhnik. The official reason is “due to illness.”
Sergei Levkovich, who until now had been Rogozhnik’s first deputy, has been appointed acting chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, reports “Solidarnast”.
The unexpected change in the region’s leadership raises several questions at once. To begin with—just a few days ago, Lukashenko visited the Vitebsk region, and during his visit to Nikolai Vorobey, a businessman close to the government, and the Minister of Agriculture, and the regional governor heard on more than one occasion about the need to learn from the private entrepreneur.
If we take the official version about his illness at face value, the question arises: why give instructions to someone you’re already planning to remove from office?
Incidentally, neither in the Verkhnedvinsky District nor at “Dazhynki” in Miory did Rogozhnik appear incapable of performing his duties.
There are also questions regarding his appointment as regional governor earlier this year. His predecessor Alexander Subbotin was removed by the president amid a scandal, after he claimed that “we can easily manage without the Vitebsk Region today.”
And here lies the paradox of personnel policy: after accusing the regional leadership of a mass livestock die-off, Lukashenko removed Subbotin—a licensed veterinarian—from office and replaced him with Rogozhnik, an industrialist, to resolve this pressing problem.
It should be noted that this latest leadership change in the Vitebsk region occurred amid yet another wave of alarming statements about the region’s future.
Sergei Levkovich previously served as first deputy chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee. Before being sent to Vitebsk, he received valuable instructions from Lukashenko: “If they’re in the forest there, well, let’s focus on timber processing, industry, and so on. If it’s hard to get grains and legumes in the Vitebsk Region, then let’s focus on beef and milk production. And in Orsha, Tolochin, and the Vitebsk District—this area right here—that’s where we can grow grain. There can be chickens and pigs there. In principle, that’s already the case there. What’s lacking is discipline and organization. All in all, there are a whole bunch of problems.”
Whether he’ll be able to handle this pile of problems in his new role is another big question.
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