Belarusian foreign minister committed suicide after being side-lined

The death in November 2022 of Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei has been ruled as suicide by authorities according to the state-owned news agency BeITA.

Belarusian opposition publication Nasha Niva cited on Monday, February 20, four independent sources that called his death suicide.

Sources close to the minister cite personal and political troubles as being behind his apparent suicide and in particular a power struggle among the dictatorship´s leaders.

Nasha Niva quoted friends who said: “He was hurt by the collapse of the course that he was conducting, and he often felt unneeded, and sometimes simply inappropriate.”

These same sources believe that self-proclaimed President Alexander Lukashenko was looking to replace Makei, with whom he had a number of differences.

A colleague said: “Recently, he was denied personal attention, which was very sensitive for him.

“This did not mean that he would be removed tomorrow. But he knew that [his stay in] his former high position was coming to an end.

“And after the heights [he had reached], he did not see himself anywhere else.”

It is understood that he had also split from his wife and family and that he had returned home alone on the day of his death. His eldest son is believed to have found him after being unable to reach him by phone.

Those spoken to by the publication don´t see any reason to believe foul play was involved as speculated by the press at the time. But they end their article with a telling quote from Makei on April 1, 2022.

He said: “I don’t remember who said this, but if you are going to be executed, it is better to execute for loyalty than for treason.”

Despite reports that the Belarusian foreign minister committed suicide, many will still believe that some foul play is involved, given that Makei had voiced opposition to some of Lukashenko’s views on the Ukraine invasion and the situation in Belarus.

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