Russia Arrests Duo Accused of Lukashenko Assassination Plot

Putin and Lukashenko meet in 2000 (Wikimedia Commons).

Russian authorities arrested two people on April 17 for allegedly planning a coup to overthrow Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Russia’s domestic intelligence service, the Federal Security Service (FSB), also accused the United States of backing the plot.

The accused are Yuri Zenkovich, an American-Belarusian lawyer, and Alexander Feduta, a Belarusian scholar and political commentator. Feduta previously served as Lukashenko’s press secretary in 1994 but left the administration. He later became a prominent opposition figure. 

Russian authorities claim that the men had come to Moscow to meet with Belarusian generals to discuss planning a military coup. 

Their plan allegedly contained details such as “the seizure of radio and television centers to broadcast their appeal to the people, blocking the internal troops and riot police units loyal to the current government.” 

According to the FSB, the coup would have taken place on May 9—the date of the annual Victory Parade, a celebration of the end of World War II. 

In addition to plotting to assassinate Lukashenko, intelligence authorities accused Zenkovich and Feduta of planning to kidnap or assassinate Lukashenko’s family. 

Following their arrest by the FSB, the two men were handed over to Belarusian authorities. 

Both Russian and Belarusian authorities have alleged that the United States backed the coup. The  U.S. State Department has denied this accusation. 

Lukashenko commented, “Why do the Americans behave this way? Remember, no one can assign the task of eliminating a president other than the top political leadership. Only they can make that call, not the special services.”

Despite his accusation, Lukashenko’s intelligence team has not provided evidence of U.S. involvement. 

Tensions between Belarus and the United States have risen since the United States refused to recognize the results of the country’s August elections. In August, Lukashenko won with 80 percent of the vote, a figure that the United States challenged as fraudulent. 

While Lukashenko has faced criticism from the United States and European governments, he continues to enjoy strong support from Moscow. In October 2020, Russia placed one of Belarus’ top dissidents, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, on Russia’s wanted list as a result of an agreement between Russia and Belarus. 

Tsikhanouskaya’s office commented on the alleged assassination plot on April 18, calling it “a provocation organized by the secret services of Russia and Belarus.”