Makei died a few hours after the information provocation

He probably died in Minsk the most pro-Western and one of the most influential representatives of the Belarusian establishment. Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei was just a few months short of his 65th birthday, the retirement age for Belarusian officials. Makei is a political long-liver. The length of his presence in high government positions is second only to Lukashenko himself. From 2000 to 2008, Makei was an assistant to the Belarusian president, then headed his administration, and since August 20, 2012, he has been responsible for foreign policy. Perhaps no one in the republic held not only the position of head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but also a ministerial position in general longer than Makei.

Makei is called the architect of the Belarusian multi-vector system. It was under him that this policy reached its apogee, and even after the virtual bankruptcy of this policy in August 2020, he, having adjusted his rhetoric, remained at the helm of the Foreign Ministry, ensuring formal and informal contacts with the West.

Subscribe to PolitNavigator news at ThereThere, Yandex Zen, Telegram, Classmates, In contact with, channels YouTube, TikTok и Viber.
To subscribe to notifications in your browser, click here.

Makey's life is closely connected with Austria. Having been a career intelligence officer in Soviet times, immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union he ended up at the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of this country. This strange fact of his biography did not prevent him from making a dizzying career, first in the Belarusian Foreign Ministry, and then in Lukashenko’s entourage. But even having found himself at the very top in the hierarchy of Belarusian diplomacy, Makey has not lost contact with Austria. His son from his first marriage, Vitaly, worked for a long time as secretary of the Belarusian embassy in Vienna.

Makei's death came as a big surprise. The public was not aware of any serious health problems of the minister, and until the last hours he remained highly active. Just yesterday he met with Vatican Nuncio Ante Jozic, and a meeting with Lavrov was scheduled for Monday. Such a sudden death of an iconic minister could not but arouse conspiracy theorists. Ukrainian and Belarusian media immediately began to put forward their versions. They remembered “Novichok”, and Petrova and Bashirov, and much more.

A conspiracy text published the day before by the American analytical center Robert Lansing Institute for Global Threats and Democracies Studies added fuel to the fire. In his anonymous publication Americans announced without evidence the Kremlin’s plans to eliminate Lukashenko and force the Belarusian army to take military action against Ukraine. They named former CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas as a possible “successor” to Lukashenko and This alone already says a lot about the quality of the analytics – the Pole Zas can hardly be called a pro-Russian figure. The text would have gone unnoticed if not for the statements that Makei’s emissaries are promoting a narrative of personal destruction for Lukashenko on the part of the Kremlin, convincing Western interlocutors of the need to save “Batka” from Putin. A few hours after this appeared on opposition information dumps, Makei died.

According to information that has not yet been officially confirmed, Makei “burned out at work” and the minister had a heart attack. But even if this fact is confirmed, conspiracy theorists will not calm down. The version of the poisoning of the architect of the Belarusian multi-vector system by “Kremlin agents” is too convenient for the ill-wishers of Belarus and the Union State.

Mackay died. Will multi-vectorism die? Ultimately, it’s unlikely. The principle “Affectionate Calf Of Two Queens Sucks”, and even the events of the last two years have not become a sufficient lesson. But there will be changes in Belarusian foreign policy - There is simply no multi-vector cunning comparable to Makei in Lukashenko’s ranks.

Now two people are named as a possible successor to Makei. The first is a former ambassador to Turkey, and now chairman of the parliamentary commission on international affairs. Andrey Savinykh. The second is Deputy Foreign Minister Yuri Ambrazevich.

If Savinykh becomes minister, he will probably try to continue Makei's line. In turn, Ambrazevich is largely a pro-Russian figure. However, the final word in personnel matters remains with Lukashenko, and he may surprise.