Lukashenko Increasingly Meets With A Medical Official
11- 1.12.2025, 9:02
- 4,932
Is Karanik giving health advice to the dictator?
Over the past month only publicly the ruler has seen the head of the Academy of Sciences three times. "Salidarnasts" looks into how Vladimir Karanik found himself among his favorites and what are the consequences?
"You are no longer the governor, but I keep soaping you, soaping you"
When in May, after only a few months of work as deputy prime minister, Karanik was transferred to the post of head of the Academy of Sciences, it may have seemed that he did not please the governor in some way and his career went downhill.
But for the last month Lukashenko has only publicly communicated with the verticalist three times.
October 29, the ruler received him and the head of the National Bank Golovchenko with reports.
November 13, the chairman of the Academy of Sciences was again in Lukashenko's office - already with a separate report.
On November 21, the ruler held a large meeting with scientists at the Palace of Independence.
And what is characteristic: despite the presence of Prime Minister Turchin on his left hand, the ruler communicated almost exclusively with Karanik, who was sitting on his right hand.
And even flirting with him: "You are no longer governor, but I keep soaping you, soaping you. What for? For Grodno region, where you have a cattle death.
Lukashenko has been half-jokingly praising Karanik for a long time. In 2021, the ruler said he was considering his candidacy for the presidency. Then he assessed the order on the fields in Grodno region in this way: "You see, it's like Karanik did it on purpose! I flew in the helicopter and said: well, it was done on purpose. It's worth a lot to see!".
In 2024, he told the Minister of Health Alexander Khodjaev: "If you don't go with the flow, but, like Karanik, keep a firm course, there will be work in health care".
It's obvious that Karanik, who as recently as 2019 was only the chief physician of Minsk City Oncodispensary, was and remains among Lukashenko's favorites.
"They attacked and jumped, tore his clothes"
Why was Karanik among the ruler's favorites? Lukashenko told about it quite openly in March when appointing him to the deputy prime minister's office.
First of all, Karanik, being, to put it bluntly, not a fool, is ready to fulfill any command of Lukashenko ("You are an executive man. If a decision is made, you will fulfill this decision with ironclad determination"). How not to recall the coronavirus pandemic, when the head of the Ministry of Health did not oppose Lukashenko's will and hid the statistics on tens of thousands of dead.
Secondly, during the mass protests in 2020, Karanik not only chose Lukashenko's side, but was not afraid to get dirty. While many medical professionals were outraged by the violence in the country, he called it an exaggeration.
And already as governor, at a meeting with the Grodno Azot staff, Karanik said that a 16-year-old beaten in a coma in Minsk was allegedly on psychotropics - medical certificates denied it.
Lukashenko also said as much in March, recalling how Karanik was "attacked and jumped on, his clothes torn."
Then he praised the official for his work as governor.
"You were a small president, if I may say so," said the governor, who is second to Karanik in height.
Lukashenko probably values him also as a former medic, able to give advice on health and treatment. He once ordered the then governor to explain to journalists of the state media why he had become hoarse.
In addition, it is hard to escape the idea that Lukashenko simply enjoys communicating with Karanik - otherwise, how to explain the frequent meetings recently.
Bank's name: Bank Millennium S.A.
Address: ul. Stanislawa Zaryna, 2A, 02-593, Warszawa
IBAN: PL97116022020000000216711123
SWIFT: BIGBPLPW
Name of the account holder: Fundacja “KARTA ‘97”
Purpose/title of payment: Donation for statuary aims
You can contact us by the e-mail [email protected]
