Photo Gallery A Belarusian Despot
Relatives of people detained in Sunday opposition protests in Belarus wait outside the prison's walls for news. When demonstrators took to the capital's streets to protest election results that saw Alexander Lukashenko re-elected, the despot had opposition politicians beaten and opponents of his regime arrested.
Alexander Lukashenko: The man who has been ruling Belarus with an iron fist for the past 16 years.
Lukashenko (2nd right) takes part in independence celebrations in Minsk in 2009.
He is often described as "Europe's last dictator."
Lukashenko delivers a speech to the National Assembly in Minsk in early December ahead of presidential elections.
An opposition supporter appeals to riot policemen for sympathy during a rally denouncing the results of presidential elections.
Lukashenko was born into poverty in 1954 near the Belarusian border with Russia. He studied history and agriculture before leading a collective farm in 1987. He became known for his campaign against crime in 1991. In 1994 he became president of Belarus. After serving two terms he went on to rule for a third in 2003, something that the Belarusian consitution forbade. Shortly afterwards the constitution, seen here in Lukashenko's hands, was amended in his favor.
Lukashenko, 56, is happy to pose as a populist and is anything but shy about squeezing into skin-tight cycling outfits and will occasionally take to the ice for a bit of hockey. He has also been known to play a bit of tennis.
But, revealed Vladimir Parfenovich, an Olympic kayaker who medalled for Belarus in the 1980s, "one is not allowed to touch him during ice hockey games."
Lukashenko crosses the finish line during a street skiing race in 2001. The fact that he came it first was hardly a surprise.
Lukashenko during a friendly soccer match with Russian veteran's team in 1999. In reference to Belarus' dependence on Russian energy, Lukashenko told Russian journalists, that they would rather transport the oil in vehicles than "become yet another region of the Russian Federation ... no one will force us onto our knees."
A decade ago, Lukashenko sought to form a closer union with Russia. More recently, however, he has sounded out opportunities for closer relations with Western countries -- the same nations he once accused of "trying to turn our girls into prostitutes," of "feeding our citizens with illicit drugs," and of "spreading homosexual perversion." He remains intent on friendly relations with Russia, however, as seen in this image with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
Skiing with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in 2009. It has also been said that one must not overtake Lukashenko when skiing.
Lukashenko meeting Pope Benedict XVI in 2009. He and his sons gave the religious leader a children's book.
Lukaschenko and his son Kolya on a motorcycle. Kolya has accompanied is father on diplomatic visits and went to the voting booth with his father on the weekend.
Lukashenko checks out a submachine gun while visiting a Minsk factory. "Lukashenko is a guarantor of economic and political stability in Belarus, its independence," the Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite conceded recently
Lukashenko gives a press conference in Minsk on Dec. 20, 2010. The crackdown on the opposition after elections in Belarus has struck a potentially fatal blow to strongman President Alexander Lukashenko's bid to improve ties with the West, analysts say.
