Behind enemy lines: Dmitry Lukashenko follows “extremist” Instagram page
Some time ago, Buro discovered Dmitry Lukashenko’s secret Instagram account. We reviewed his profile and the accounts he follows to understand what online interests engage the middle son of the Belarusian leader.
Dmitry Lukashenko. Source: sportclub.by
The profile was registered in Belarus under the name Dmitry in September 2021.
The user follows Dmitry Lukashenko’s daughters, Anastasiya, Darya and Aliaksandra, and they follow him back. The account also has mutual Instagram follows with Dmitry Lukashenko’s wife, Anna Lukashenko, who maintains two accounts: a public profile under the stage name Anna Seluk and a personal account under her maiden name, Anna Gorovikova.
Another observation is the large number of mutual hockey connections, specifically within Dmitry Lukashenko’s circle. One example of this is the account for the Shield Hockey Club, of which Dmitry Lukashenko is a player. We also found Maksim Shymanski, the head coach of Shield HC, and Mikita Yarashynski, a Shield forward, among the profile’s followers.
The account also has mutual follows with senior executives of the Presidential Sports Club (PSC), which has been controlled by Dmitry Lukashenko since 2005 – including Ivan Smolski, his deputy, and Pavel Yahorau, his assistant.
Among Dmitry Lukashenko’s followers, we identified Dzmitry Baskau, the chief coach of the Aleksandr Lukashenko hockey team, the business profile of the Tennis Club, which is owned by the Presidential Sports Club, and a certain Yury Shakhura. Thanks to the CyberPartisans, we discovered that he was a member of Military Unit 01549, which is Lukashenko’s security service. Shakura has accompanied Anna Lukashenko on several trips abroad, leading us to conclude that he may be Dmitry Lukashenko’s family’s personal bodyguard.
Additionally, Dmitry Lukashenko follows accounts offering astrological advice for those born under the sign of Aries. Lukashenko’s middle son was born on March 23 and is an Aries. What type of online content does he like?
First and foremost, sports-related content, of course. He follows the social media accounts of the following organisations: the Ministry of Sport of the Republic of Belarus; the Minsk Amateur Ice Hockey Championship; the Belarusian Biathlon Federation; the ice hockey team led by Lukashenko Sr.; the Ruslan Salei Children’s and Youth Sports School; the KHL; the United Hockey League; and, of course, his own project – PSC.
Dmitry Lukashenko uses the internet not only for work but also for entertainment. He follows accounts that post funny videos, product reviews from online marketplaces, film highlights and celebrity news.
He is also interested in digital psychology. For example, he follows the “Get to Know Yourself” page, which encourages people to view themselves from a different perspective and discover psychological insights. Dmitry Lukashenko also follows Daniel Flash, who promotes his unique psychosomatic therapy method on his profile.
Of course, Dmitry Lukashenko is working on his financial situation and practising money affirmations. On Instagram, Dmitry follows Sergey Adamovich, who calls himself the “Architect of the Soul’s Code”. He teaches people how to decipher their personal income code and follow a step-by-step system to achieve financial freedom. Additionally, Lukashenko’s middle son follows blogger Sasha Belair’s account. She is the author of a “money meditation” course called Ab.money, which, in her view, helps attract money into one’s life with ease and harmony. However, she mainly became famous online because her husband, Sergey Kosenko, the “copium peddler”, threw their baby into a snowdrift.
Dmitry Lukashenko also keeps up to date with news from Belarus. He follows official accounts from state media outlets and public pages, such as BelTA, Pul Pervogo, Volkovysk Life and ONT Music.
However, Buro discovered that Dmitry Lukashenko had also crossed the enemy lines. He follows the Instagram account @belarusnovosti2, which has been designated an extremist web resource. According to Belarusian law, Dmitry Lukashenko could face an administrative penalty for “facilitating extremism” over this follow. While ordinary Belarusians are being persecuted across the country for their social media activity and are being forced to pay fines or serve prison sentences, the question arises: Are all people equal before the law?