Lukashenka's Red Line – News from Belarus

There will be an investigation.

In 1999, Belarus could have held a second democratic presidential election, but instead Aliaksandr Lukashenka's Opponents began to disappear from the country. He still holds power today, partly because of the events of a quarter of a century ago.

“Death squad” formed from special forces

September 16, 1999 was the last day on which the former head of the Central Election Commission, former deputy of the Supreme Council Viktar Hanchar and his friend, businessman Anatol Krasouski were seen alive in Minsk.

It is known that that evening they visited the bathhouse on Fabrychnaia Street. After that they got into Krasouski's car, but did not manage to leave the parking lot. Both disappeared without a trace and were not found even after 25 years.

Based on numerous media publications and important evidence, it can be assumed with great certainty that the politician and businessman was kidnapped and later killed on the orders of Aliaksandr Lukashenko. The executors of his will were soldiers of a separate unit formed on the basis of a brigade of special forces of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, later called the “death squad” in independent media. At the scene of the disappearance of Hanchar and Krasouski, investigators found broken car glass and traces of blood.

The alleged commander of the “squad” Dzmitry Paulichenka was even arrested in 2000 on the orders of the KGB chairman Uladzimir Matskevich and with the approval of the Attorney General Aleh Bazhelko. Suspected of organizing political assassinations. However, he was released a day later on Lukashenka's personal orders, and Matskevich and Bazhelka were also released soon after.

The disappearance of Khanchar and Krasouski was just one episode in a series of similar cases. On May 7, 1999, former Interior Minister Yuri Zakharanka, who had previously defected to the opposition, disappeared near Shukouski Street in Minsk. On July 7, 2000, journalist Dzmitri Zavadsky was kidnapped on his way to Minsk airport.

It has been reported time and again that the “death squad” is also behind these crimes.

Harauski: Paulitschenka killed them all personally

In 2019, a former fighter of the Special Rapid Response Unit (SOBR) Yuri Harauski said in an interview with Deutsche Welle about his involvement in the kidnapping of Hanchar, Krasouski and Zacharanka. According to the former employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs who emigrated from Belarus, he was part of a group of special forces that was involved in the kidnapping of opponents of the authorities.

Harauski said that Paulichenka personally killed all three with a pistol. Zakharenka's body was burned in the crematorium of the Minsk Northern Cemetery, while Khanchar and Krasouski were buried at the Interior Ministry base near Baihoml in the Vitebsk region.

After the interview, human rights activists managed to initiate a criminal case against Harauski. The investigation was conducted in Switzerland, where, as mentioned above, the former SOBR fighter had applied for political asylum. He was accused of “involvement in numerous kidnappings” (according to local laws, it was not possible to charge him with murder or complicity in them, since the crimes were committed on Belarusian territory).

In September 2023, the St. Gallen District Court acquitted Harauski because his testimony was not sufficient for a conviction.

At the same time, the judge explained in his verdict that this was a special case in legal practice, since it was “the authorities responsible for violent crimes”. “These facts should not be called into question. But during the interrogation, the accused became entangled in contradictions and evaded answering,” said the judge.

“Whoever disobeyed, his bones have already rotted”

The disappearance of political opponents was not Lukashenka's exclusive endeavor. It is believed that the corresponding “license to kill” was granted to Lukashenka's group several years earlier and was originally used in the fight against organized crime.

The 1990s saw unrest in the post-Soviet space. Various groups took advantage of the weakness of the authorities in the former republics, seized control of private companies and engaged in drug trafficking, contract killings and other serious crimes.

And although the scale of organized crime in Belarus was much smaller than in Russia, Lukashenka decided to destroy it at its roots. And, as one might assume, he chose a fairly effective – but absolutely illegal – way to do this.

In the second half of the 1990s, criminals began to disappear without a trace in Belarus. The most famous case is the disappearance of a 37-year-old “thief in law” in Minsk. Uladzimir KleshchNicknamed Shchavlik. In December 1997, after a call from an unknown person on a mobile phone, he went to the yard to “drive the car away” and after that no one saw him again.

From time to time, Lukashenka proudly comments on his victory over organized crime. Some statements can be interpreted as confessions.

In 2001, he said that back in 1996, “through certain crooks,” he had warned the leaders of the criminal world: “God forbid, if you create a criminal situation somewhere, I will tear off everyone's heads.” And he added: “There was a case when they behaved wrongly. Remember those 'shavliks' and others. Where are they now? Therefore, the country is fine and everyone is happy.”

In 2011, Lukashenka returned to the issue in his message to the people and parliament. “Groups that once emerged from Soviet pants had very close ties to Moscow. We eliminated them very quickly. The bones of those who disobeyed have already rotted,” he said.

“Whether this is true or not is difficult to say, but after the appearance of new thieves in Belarus, the agents usually remind them of the 'rotten bones of Shchavlik' in the so-called preventive talks,” BelHazeta wrote in 2017.

Obviously, Lukashenka was aware of the illegality of such actions when he gave the green light to the unlawful reprisals against crime. But in this case, in his opinion, the promiscuity of means was justified by a good purpose. No wonder he later boasted about how famously these “shchavliks” were exterminated in Belarus. He preferred to remain silent about the fact that over time his political opponents turned out to be “shchavliks.” Meanwhile, this can be considered a natural course of events. If the “death squad” is created, its scope of duties will naturally expand.

Sooner or later an investigation will be carried out

Lukashenka came to power in 1994 after fair elections. He immediately began dismantling democratic institutions, demonstrating his intention to rule alone for a long time. As a result of two referendums, almost unlimited power was concentrated in his hands. At the same time, the first president literally moved on the edge of power several times, especially in 1996, when he was on the verge of impeachment.

It was assumed that the second election of the head of state would take place in 1999. And if the political system in Belarus had been preserved, Lukashenka could have lost it, since the results of his rule in the first five years were not particularly impressive. However, using these methods, he completely rebuilt the system of power – and only for himself. As a result, the second elections were not held until 2001 and were not recognized as democratic by the international community. 1999 went down in history primarily as the time of the disappearance of prominent opposition figures.

One could argue that Lukashenka crossed the red line at that time and ruled out the scenario of a peaceful transfer of power. After his departure, an impartial investigation into the cases of Hanchar, Krasouski, Zacharanka and Zavadski could begin, as the relatives of the missing, opposition politicians and representatives of the West had demanded. The evidence that the ruler of Belarus would be in the dock would have been collected too quickly.

In fact, such an investigation does not lose its relevance over the years. This is also why Lukashenka fought for his absolutism in 2020, regardless of the means. This regime could not have done anything worse four years ago than in 1999.

The immunity guarantees enshrined in the Constitution for the period after the next referendum in 2022 should also be seen as a reference to the events of 25 years ago. A clause appeared in the Constitution stating that “the President, who ceases to exercise his powers, cannot be held responsible for acts committed in connection with the exercise of his presidential powers”.

Lukashenka, 70, has been declaring more and more frequently that he will not be in office forever and is busy building a system of personal security in case power is transferred to his successor. He regularly declares that his legacy must be passed on to his descendants.

With this security, everything can go well for him. The power in the country today seems monolithic, the law enforcement agencies are in constant combat readiness and no one expects any surprises from the 2025 election campaign.

The situation regarding the legacy is far less rosy. Sooner or later, Belarus expects democratization and then the return of the people's right to elect the government. An open and transparent investigation into the spectacular disappearances of 1999-2000 will inevitably be among the priorities of any new government. The results, communicated to the whole country, could shock even the “nuclear” supporters of Belarusian stability.

Viachaslau Karastsen, Pozirk