"Backup airfield": why Lukashenko is building a residence near Sochi and why 2024 could be a turning point for the dictator

Self-proclaimed President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko is building a luxurious residence in the mountains near the resort city of Sochi in the Krasnodar Territory of the Russian Federation. The dictator's estate will be located on an area of 972.5 hectares and will be equipped with protection against UAVs, and its cost will be about $150 million. According to experts, the residence should become an "alternate airfield" for Lukashenko's departure from Belarus.

Belsat journalists and the association of former Belarusian security officials BELPOL spoke about the construction of the project in a joint investigation. They found out that Lukashenko's residence will be built on the territory of the elite Krasnaya Polyana resort on a plot of more than 97 thousand square meters.

A total of 12 facilities are planned to be built, including a hotel, a personal office, a restaurant complex, chalets, a swimming pool, a cinema, Russian and Turkish baths, a massage room, and a fitness center.

The interior promises to be luxurious, with walls made of monolithic reinforced concrete and gilded door handles.

A unique Celtic "place of power" is located nearby, where esotericists come to worship the deities of the forest, the investigation says.

At the same time, Lukashenko's residence, according to the project, will be provided with means of protection against drones and "heavily armed guards."

The property was sold to the dictator back in February 2022.

The construction is being carried out by a private group of companies, Krasnodargrazhdanproekt, associated with Lukashenko.

The investigators note that Lukashenka's residence near Sochi is being built "quietly, through a shell company, behind a high fence, and they are afraid that information about its purpose will not get to the media."

They obtained not only the contract for the sale of the land plot, but also Lukashenko's secret orders, which alienated the land plot from Belarusian ownership into the private hands of the dictator's friends and started the construction of the Krasnaya Polyana residential complex.

According to the investigators, Lukashenka plans to use the new estate after he leaves his post and Belarus in general, either voluntarily or by force. He apparently decided to build it after the 2020 elections and protests.

Scenarios of the "end of Lukashenko"

According to political scientist, political analyst, and international journalist Viktor Kaspruk, 2024 could be a turning point for Lukashenko. He will turn 70 years old, 30 of which he has been ruling illegitimately in Belarus.

"It is obvious that the last dictator of Europe is losing his dead grip, his health has been undermined by decades of all kinds of excesses, illnesses and excess weight, but he cannot retire politically. Neither can he pass the country to his heir, his son Kolinka, nor to any of his inner circle," the political analyst notes.

So far, Lukashenko has managed to avoid direct involvement in the war against Ukraine for several reasons. While he is waiting to see who will prevail, and when the situation in Russia begins to deteriorate sharply, he will have "a chance to fight for at least a small political indulgence from the West" - he says that despite the Kremlin's pressure, he has managed to avoid direct interference in the hostilities.

In addition, the Belarusian army itself poses a danger to Lukashenko. Unlike the KGB and the police, the military has no particular loyalty to the dictator, so he does not risk mobilization. And in the event of a critical situation in the country, the military could defeat Lukashenko's security forces and send the usurper to Moscow forever, the analyst suggests.

According to Kaspruk, Lukashenko has two scenarios for the future: "bad and even worse". If he sends troops to Ukraine, "he will become extremely vulnerable at home, because his influence on the country is weak."

"If he doesn't, Russia will lose the war of aggression - he will definitely lose control of Belarus and may be removed from power by force and repeat the fate of Mussolini," the analyst believes.

According to Kaspruk, Lukashenko has managed to avoid the Kremlin's political traps for 30 years, and now he has to "pass a difficult exam to confirm this skill."

"The positive thing here is that the self-proclaimed president cares little about the fate of Belarus after his term ends. The main thing is his family and his life. Therefore, he will be ready to do anything to save them," the analyst points out.

In his opinion, the opportunity to tear Belarus away from Russia will appear only after Moscow's defeat in the war, which will surely mean that Belarus will also break away from Lukashenko, who "stole 30 years of their future from Belarusians."

"And the self-proclaimed president will definitely have to answer for this, as well as for all the crimes he has committed: the disappearance of his political opponents without a trace, torture and murder of political prisoners, robbery of the Belarusian people, smuggling of oil products and election fraud, whatever he does next," Viktor Kaspruk predicts.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, last week Lukashenko said that the West should "play a draw with Russia". According to the dictator, otherwise the war could allegedly end in "the termination of Ukraine's existence."

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