Lukashenko appoints Alexander Turchin as Belarus's new PM
Turchin, who previously served as head of the Minsk regional executive committee, held key government positions, including chief of staff of the Council of Ministers in 2016 and first deputy prime minister in 2018-2019.
After his appointment, Turchin told reporters that Belarus would not see any "significant course correction," adding that his approach would be one of "evolution without revolutions."
Turchin is replacing Roman Golovchenko, who has held the office of prime minister since June 2020 and was now appointed head of the National Bank. Lukashenko presented the personnel changes as the advent of a "new generation" in Belarusian leadership.
Lukashenko, in power since 1994 and widely regarded as Russian President Vladimir Putin's close ally, has faced repeated accusations of election fraud.
His self-declared victory in the 2020 presidential election, widely denounced as illegitimate, triggered mass protests in Minsk that were brutally suppressed with Moscow's backing.
Since then, over 8,000 people have been detained for political reasons, according to the Belarusian human rights group Viasna.
On Jan. 26, Lukashenko claimed a seventh term in office in another election widely condemned as neither free nor fair.
Though Belarus has not directly participated in Russia's war against Ukraine, it has allowed the Kremlin to use its territory as a staging ground for military operations.
Read also: Russia's arms exports plunge by 47% since full-scale invasion's start, SIPRI reports
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