MIA Special Unit Officer Speaks About An Attack On Lukashenka’s Residence

The unarmed guard climbed a tree in a panic.

Until 2020, Aleh served as an officer in the military unit 3310 of the internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The unit’s tasks include guarding Lukashenka.

Aleh told zerkalo.io that almost every week he and other military personnel monitored security at Lukashenka’s residence in Astrashytski Haradok and during his trips around the country.

When guarding the dictator, soldiers of the internal troops are not given military weapons — only batons, a stun gun and handcuffs. In some situations, they are not even allowed to move freely around the territory of the facility to which Lukashenka is visiting.

“He visited the Minsk special forces unit (military unit 3214) in Uruchcha several times,” Aleh recalls. “Even there there was strict control.” Snipers watched the windows of the buildings, but we were not allowed to look out of them. It was also impossible to leave the premises without an order. The unit was moved only in formation, and all shops on its territory were closed. Although it would seem: what could happen in a place where special forces serve, supposedly loyal to “the fatherland and Lukashenka”?

Aleh also recalls being on duty at Lukashenka’s residence in Astrashytski Haradok:

“He liked to mow the grass there with his entourage. We arrived at the checkpoint, showed our passports, and gave in our phones — we couldn’t use them while on duty. Then we began protecting the perimeter. Soldiers were stationed along it, and I, as an officer on duty, walked around and checked the posts. We were usually far from the place where Lukashenka was mowing the grass. At most we could see his motorcade passing by. In addition to our military unit, riot police, traffic police and the Security Service were also involved in “protecting the mowing.” I remember one comical situation. I'm on duty, and suddenly I hear a soldier shouting from the forest: “A fox is attacking!” I ran there and saw that the soldier climbed a tree, and a mad fox was running under him. But we don’t have weapons, we have nothing to drive it away with. I think that’s it, we are doomed, if that fox with rabies bites the soldier, we will be in so much trouble! But we were lucky — the fox just circled around the tree and ran away. In general, these shifts are a real hassle. We started protecting the entire territory at least four hours before Lukashenka’s arrival. You stand at your post for many hours without food or water. There is nothing to do, you can’t sit, you can’t walk.

While on duty at the residence in Astrashytski Haradok, Aleh had the opportunity to communicate with the local employees. They complained about low wages and wiretapping.

“These are ordinary people who looked after the territory of the residence: they collected branches, cut down trees, and so on,” says the interlocutor. “I was surprised how little they were paid: about 700 rubles a month (this was 2019). They complained that they constantly heard strange clicking sounds in their phones. I remember they told a story about how they filled a ski track for Lukashenka in the same Astrashytski Haradok. It was winter. He called an assistant and ordered the ski track to be filled, saying he wanted to go skiing. We gathered all the workers and did everything overnight. Lukashenka came out in the morning, looked at the ski track and said: “Do you want me to slip? Put this away!" They gathered everyone again and dismantled it overnight. And the next morning Lukashenka came out with his skis: “Where is my ski track?” And told everyone off.