Lukashenko's offended ex-favorite made accusations against his female entourage
Belarusian singer Anzhelika Agurbash (former soloist of the Verasy ensemble), who considers herself the favorite of the country's president Alexander Lukashenko, now calls him inadequate and wants him removed from power.
In her opinion, the president “spoiled” under the influence of his female entourage, which blocked her performances at iconic concerts for 5 years.
She spoke about this in an interview with Belarusian political scientist Dmitry Bolkunets.
“I think they hid me, they just didn’t let Lukashenko see me. Because as soon as he sees me, nothing else exists around. We communicate with him. This happened many times. He was very friendly towards me, but there were never any signs of male attention towards me. We could drink vodka and chat,” said Agurbash.
According to her, the last time she saw Lukashenko was at the EurAsEC summit in Yerevan in 2019, when some oligarch invited her as a “gift” to the Belarusian president. Lukashenko and Agurbash allegedly drank a glass of cognac, and the singer asked for a detailed conversation.
She wanted to tell Lukashenko about the catastrophic situation in Belarusian culture, which resembles “grandmother’s chest”: everyone is “intimidated and hunted,” television is in decline, “all the best people have left for Ukraine,” and Deputy Minister of Culture Irina Driga is in charge of concerts.
“Driga stood behind the scenes for a long time, deciding who should be and who shouldn’t be. Who is this woman, what does she have to do with culture? Starting with her appearance and ending with all her possibilities and impossibilities,” says Agurbash.
In Yerevan, Lukashenko allegedly ordered his press secretary Natalya Eismont to organize the arrival of his favorite singer on Independence Day, but no invitation was forthcoming.
“I specially came for Independence Day myself, canceling filming. I needed to talk to him. Because when I saw what was happening around him... Around him there was a ring of women of unknown color and breed, regalia, titles and professions. I realized that everything was serious there.
Not a sound, not a breath. I really wanted to talk to him and convey information about his circle – Natalya, Daria. This is not the level of the head of state. And I realized that these ladies kept him in a ring and didn’t allow anyone in at all. He didn’t even know that I was being excluded from all events,” Agurbash complains.
As a result, Eismont ignored her and only sent her an SMS.
Agurbash is offended by Natalya Eismont and Daria Shmanay (Lukashenko’s favorite from the protocol service) because they did not greet her at an event organized by Philip Kirkorov in Minsk.
“These ladies... Listen, I’m not the last person in Belarus and I don’t come there every day. But it felt like I was wearing an invisibility cap. They didn’t say hello, even when Philip pointed at me. Then I realized that everything was serious. In Yerevan they saw his disposition towards me,” Agurbash said.
She would like Lukashenko to be surrounded by opposition figures like Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and Maria Kolesnikova with a “level of patriotism.”
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