Golden Child: Who Is Kolya Lukashenko, and Will He Inherit Belarus?

When protests broke out in Belarus in 2020 and hundreds of thousands of Belarusians took to the streets demanding Alexander Lukashenko’s resignation, he made it clear to the world and his own people that he had no intention of voluntarily stepping down.

The Belarusian dictator flew to his residence in a military helicopter and emerged to face security forces wearing a bulletproof vest and carrying a Kalashnikov assault rifle. But perhaps the one who attracted the most attention was not Lukashenko himself, but his son Kolya – then just 15 years old – who accompanied his father wearing a bulletproof vest and carrying a weapon.

Three years have passed since then; Kolya has grown up, received a prestigious education, and even earned a degree in China. For years, Kolya has accompanied his father to all international events and trips abroad. But the question of whether Lukashenko is grooming his favorite younger son to inherit the Belarusian “throne” – and whether he will be allowed to do so – remains open.

Channel 24 explores how the Belarusian dictator’s most famous son grew up, what Kolya Lukashenko actually does, and whether he is capable of one day transforming from a “golden” child into a full-fledged heir to his father’s legacy.

The Golden Child: How Kolya Lukashenko Grew Up

Nikolai Alexandrovich Lukashenko was born on August 31, 2004, when his father had already been ruling Belarus for ten years. Moreover, even the boy’s birth was accompanied by details that were quite sensitive for the presidential family.

The fact is that Alexander Lukashenko is still officially married to Galina Lukashenko, the mother of his two older sons – Viktor and Dmitry. However, Kolya’s mother is a completely different woman – Irina Abelska, the Belarusian dictator’s former personal physician and his mistress.

Kolya with his mom / photo – social media

Lukashenko himself preferred not to disclose details of his personal life, but in 2022, journalists from the Belarusian Center for Investigative Journalism, with the help of the hacker group “Cyberpartisans,” obtained confirmation of Abelska’s motherhood. Interestingly, after the birth of her son, she temporarily fell out of Lukashenko’s inner circle and even lost her high-ranking position.

However, the situation was soon rectified, and the Belarusian dictator appointed her to the leadership of the “Republican Clinical Medical Center,” which is commonly referred to simply as the “presidential clinic.”

At the same time, Kolya’s so-called “bastard” origins did not prevent him from becoming his father’s favorite. On the contrary, from early childhood, the boy effectively became the Belarusian dictator’s constant companion. 

While his peers were discovering the world around them, Kolya was meeting world leaders. He accompanied his father to meetings with Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Barack Obama, and even Pope Francis.

Kolya Lukashenko at his father’s meeting with Barack and Michelle Obama / Photo – BelTA

For several years, the boy became his influential father’s shadow, a fact that Belarusian opposition figures could not help but notice. As a result, the child was in the spotlight from an early age and earned the ironic nickname “Kolinka.” Lukashenko’s security detail paid no less attention to the boy.

For example, in 2013, during Lukashenko’s visit to Kyiv, dozens of people were assigned to look after his 9-year-old son. At the same time, the Belarusian side insisted that the boy participate in all official events, but this was not provided for in the established format, so Kolya was sent on VIP tours of the city.

Kolya during an exclusive tour of St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv / photo – Vesti

Undoubtedly, growing up in such an environment from a very young age, Kolya could not attend a regular school. He studied at the elite Minsk International Gymnasium in Drozd, the establishment of which, according to investigators, was actively promoted by his mother, Ms. Abelska.

Moreover, the financing of this school’s construction is linked to Russian billionaire Mikhail Gutseriev, who is close to Lukashenko himself. At the same time, in the best traditions of post-Soviet dictatorships, this private gymnasium for the children of Belarus’s highest-ranking officials, security forces, and businesspeople was still funded from the Belarusian state treasury.

In His Father’s Shadow / Photo: AFP/Scanpix

In 2022, Kolya graduated from high school with a gold medal and then went on to pursue higher education. Interestingly, however, he did not choose political science or public administration – which would have been quite expected, given the circumstances in which he grew up. Instead, Lukashenko’s young son chose to major in biotechnology at a university with close ties to Belarus’s ally, China. Moreover, in late 2025, Lukashenko awarded his own son a special presidential scholarship as a “gifted student.”

In the summer of 2026, Nikolai did indeed receive a degree from Peking University, though he studied under a joint program between the Chinese university and Belarusian State University. Consequently, it is difficult to determine exactly where Kolya studied, since the program itself involved taking classes simultaneously at two universities, as well as an internship in Chinese laboratories (though no one in China had seen him prior to the graduation ceremony).

Alexander Lukashenko at Kolya’s graduation ceremony / Photo – First Pool

Most likely, the choice of a university with ties to China was part of one of Alexander Lukashenko’s own political maneuvers. At the very least, the Belarusian dictator personally traveled to Beijing for Kolya’s graduation ceremony, thereby once again emphasizing his personal loyalty to the Communist Party of China.

This is quite an interesting point, since China has a tradition of giving pandas as gifts to highlight the high level of diplomatic ties with a particular country. Since there were no pandas to be found in Belarus, Alexander Grigoryevich sent his own son to China to “stay a while” instead. At least, virtually.

But setting aside speculation, it’s hard to assess Kolya Lukashenko’s actual abilities in the academic realm. Whether he earned his school medals and diplomas solely through his father’s connections, or whether he was actually a rather bright student, remains unknown. All that is known is that Nikolai grew up, in effect, in a sheltered environment from childhood onward: his own school, a special university, and an even more exclusive social circle.

However, the extent to which all these privileges prepared Kolya for real life – and even more so for potentially governing the country – remains an open question. After all, it’s one thing to grow up under the wing of the most influential person in Belarus, and quite another to one day try to take his place.

Especially since real politics is far from always resembling formal receptions and meetings with world leaders. In fact, Kolya learned his first lesson back in 2020, when his father had to defend his power and residence not with diplomatic smiles and jokes for the cameras, but with angry security forces and automatic weapons.

With an automatic rifle in hand: how Kolya Lukashenko “defended” Belarus from protests

The presidential election on August 9, 2020, was arguably the greatest public test for Alexander Lukashenko in all the years of his rule. The election he stole and the blatantly rigged result – over 80% of the vote – outraged the vast majority of Belarusians. Mass protests swept the country; hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets, demanding the dictator’s resignation and fair elections.

Peaceful demonstrations in Minsk / Photo – Wikimedia

For the first time in a quarter-century, Lukashenko felt such a grave threat to his power, and, as is often the case in personality-based dictatorships, this was compounded by a fear for his own life. In response to the peaceful demonstrations, Lukashenko deployed hundreds of security forces. People were beaten, detained, and tortured at police stations.

It was under these circumstances that, on August 23, the world saw some rather surreal footage from the presidential residence. Lukashenko flew to the Palace of Independence by helicopter, stepped out carrying an assault rifle – though without a magazine – and began issuing personal orders to the security forces.

His 15-year-old son, Kolya, was standing nearby, also wearing a bulletproof vest and carrying a weapon. However, it is unclear exactly who the armed president and his underage son were preparing to defend themselves against, since the protesters who approached the residence were unarmed and eventually dispersed.

Lukashenko with his son and an assault rifle – watch the video:

But Kolya’s political education in the field did not end there. On October 10, 2020, Lukashenko personally arrived at the KGB detention center in Belarus, where he held a sort of negotiation with imprisoned opposition figures, including former presidential candidates Viktor Babariko and Sergei Tikhanovsky.

Lukashenko Jr. was also present at the meeting and, unlike Adam Kadyrov, did not hit anyone, but merely watched the adults’ conversation in silence. According to one of the participants, at one point his father even sent Kolya to fetch aerial photographs of the protests, which he used to try to convince his opponents that the rallies were sparsely attended.

Kolya and Alexander Lukashenko at a parade in Moscow, 2025 / Photo – Russian media

What adds a particularly cynical twist to this story is an interview Kolya gave in 2024. He told the state news agency BelTA that his father jokingly calls him “the main opposition figure in the family.” He said he always has his own opinion and isn’t afraid to argue with his father. However, almost immediately, Nikolai Alexandrovich clarified the limits of his independence, stating that he could not be an opponent of the state because he is an “exact copy” of his father (as a reminder, the young man holds a degree in biotechnology – Channel 24).

Of course, the presence of the then-minor alongside his father during the suppression of the protests does not imply his personal responsibility for the repression. But in and of itself, it clearly demonstrates exactly what lessons in state governance the potential heir to the Belarusian dictator received.

After all, while opposition activists were behind bars, Kolya Lukashenko had the opportunity to observe the “proper” functioning of the dictatorship literally from the front rows. “Proper,” of course, for his family, since Lukashenko did, after all, retain power.

However, even a carbon copy of Alexander Lukashenko is not necessarily capable of becoming his full-fledged replacement. Especially if the right to inherit power means competing not only with political rivals but also with his own older brothers, who – even by monarchical standards – have a more legitimate claim to their father’s throne simply by virtue of their birth.

Several Contenders: Who Will Succeed Alexander Lukashenko in Belarus?

Despite Alexander Lukashenko’s deep affection for his younger son, it is still too early to speak of Kolya as the undisputed heir to the Belarusian dictatorship. After all, even though Lukashenko has, over more than 30 years of rule, transformed formally republican Belarus into something resembling a feudal principality, even within this peculiar monarchy there is a whole line of potential successors. Moreover, two of them have significantly more experience in governing the state than the dictator’s favorite younger son.

Lukashenko’s older sons – Dmitry (left) and Viktor / Photo: BelTA

We’re talking about Kolya’s older brothers – Viktor and Dmitry Lukashenko. The former served for years as the president’s assistant for national security, worked on the Belarusian Security Council, and built ties with the security forces and the entire state apparatus. Currently, Viktor heads the National Olympic Committee, though his influence is hardly limited to sports alone. 

Dmitry, meanwhile, heads the Presidential Sports Club and also remains part of Lukashenko’s influential family circle.

It is telling that in a study by the Center for New Ideas, published in May 2025, Viktor is specifically named as the central figure in the family-based segment of the Belarusian ruling elite. Overall, the researchers identify five groups of influence surrounding Lukashenko: the family, the bureaucratic hierarchy, economic technocrats, security officials, and close business associates. Obviously, each of these groups will have its own interests when the question of a change in power arises.

In fact, this is where the romantic tales of inheriting one’s father’s throne come to an end, because the presidential seat in Belarus is not a family estate that can simply be transferred to a favorite son. The future successor will have to negotiate with generals, officials, and business groups, for whom preserving their own positions may prove far more important than the surname of the new ruler.

Lukashenko’s speech during his latest inauguration / Photo: Center for New Ideas

Of course, the hereditary transfer of a dictatorship is by no means a fantastical phenomenon in the post-Soviet space, and it is certainly not new. In Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev was succeeded by his son Ilham, and in Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov handed over the presidency to his own son, Serdar. However, both stories share an important detail: the future heirs were introduced into the state system in advance and granted real authority. In the case of Kolya Lukashenko, nothing of the sort has happened yet.

Moreover, the Belarusian dynastic model has a very important factor right next door – the Kremlin. After the suppression of the 2020 protests and the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Minsk’s dependence on Moscow has only grown stronger. 

Therefore , any potential successor to Lukashenko will need not only the support of the Belarusian elites but also, at the very least, the favor of the Russian leadership. And it is by no means certain that the Kremlin will favor the dictator’s young son over the far more experienced members of the Belarusian elite. That is, of course, assuming he manages to hold on to power himself.

Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Kolya Lukashenko / Photo: AP

Interestingly, Lukashenko himself, in an August 2025 interview with the American magazine TIME , flatly denied that he was grooming Kolya to succeed him. Moreover, the dictator stated that he has no plans at all to run for president again. However, the question of how much one can trust the promises of a man who has ruled the country continuously since 1994 through repression and intrigue is largely rhetorical.

But even if Lukashenko truly has no intention of handing over power to his younger son, that does not mean he will leave Kolya without a place in the system he has been building for decades. After all, for the dictator’s children, inheriting political influence, wealth, and privileges may be much easier than personally leading the country.

And this is precisely where the main paradox of Nikolai Lukashenko’s biography lies. His father provided him with nearly ideal conditions for his own political debut, but has so far given him nothing that would allow him to shape that political future. Kolya lacks management experience, authority among the elites, and real power within the state apparatus.

So it is entirely possible that Kolya will remain Belarus’s most famous “golden child” – a sort of entertaining celebrity for the domestic audience – rather than its next ruler. After all, being born a sort of prince under a dictator does not automatically grant the right to power after his death. The sons of Lukashenko’s “brothers-in-arms” – Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein – can attest to this.