Photo Gallery A Belarusian Despot
Alexander Lukashenko and his son Kolya walk to the Palace of the Republic prior to the inauguration ceremony in Minsk on Jan. 21, 2011 for his fourth term as president of Belarus.
Relatives of people detained in opposition protests in Belarus wait outside a Minsk prison for news in December 2010. 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.
Lukashenko (2nd right) takes part in independence celebrations in Minsk in 2009.
Lukashenko is often described as "Europe's last dictator." This 2008 photo shows a demonstration in central Minsk.
An opposition supporter appeals to riot policemen for sympathy during a rally denouncing the results of presidential elections in December 2010.
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 tennis.
But, revealed Vladimir Parfenovich, a Belarusian kayaker who won Olympic gold 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 in first was hardly a surprise.
Lukashenko during a friendly soccer match with a Russian veterans' 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."
Lukahenko with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev: A decade ago, Lukashenko sought to form a closer union with Russia. More recently, however, he sounded out opportunities for closer relations with Western countries. That rapprochement now seems to be over after EU criticism of the post-election crackdown in December 2010.
Skiing with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in 2009: It has also been said that one must not overtake Lukashenko when skiing.
Lukashenko meets Pope Benedict XVI in 2009. He and his son gave the religious leader a children's book.
Lukaschenko and his son Kolya on a motorcycle. Kolya has accompanied his father on diplomatic visits and went to the voting booth with his father in December.
Lukashenko checks out a submachine gun while visiting a Minsk factory in 2001. "Lukashenko is a guarantor of economic and political stability in Belarus, its independence," the Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said in 2010.
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 Lukashenko's bid to improve ties with the West, analysts say.
