Alexander Lukashenko

Alexander Lukashenko

Author: BBC Radio 4 February 1, 2025 Duration: 14:45

Despite just winning a seventh consecutive presidential term, a look at Alexander Lukashenko’s early life reveals rather humbler origins.

Brought up by a single mother in a poor village in eastern Belarus, he first made his mark as the manager of a farm in the late 1980s.

After moving into politics at the end of that decade, he quickly established his reputation as a man with authoritarian instincts – and by 1994, he was elected president of Belarus for the first time.

Ever since, he has managed a balancing act between Russia, his closest economic and political partner, and overtures to the West. But, the country’s faced sanctions following its role in the invasion of Ukraine, while many Western governments have labelled this latest election as a sham.

Stephen Smith takes a closer look at the man often referred to as Europe's last dictator.

Production Team Presenter: Stephen Smith Producers: Sally Abrahams, Charlotte McDonald and Nathan Gower Editor: Ben Mundy Sound: James Beard Production Co-ordinators: Maria Ogundele and Jack Young Credits Animal Farm by George Orwell, recording produced by Ciaran Bermingham Narrated by Roger Ringrose


Each week, Profile from BBC Radio 4 takes a single name from the global conversation and builds a detailed portrait, moving far beyond the headlines. This isn't a simple biography or a news recap. Instead, through careful documentary storytelling and personal journal excerpts where available, the podcast constructs a nuanced examination of character and motive. You’ll hear from colleagues, critics, and sometimes the subjects themselves, piecing together what drives and defines the people shaping our world. The focus rests firmly on influence, whether in politics, the arts, science, or social movements, exploring how an individual's background and choices ripple through society and culture. Listening to this podcast feels like gaining a deeper, more textured understanding of the figures you think you know, revealing the contradictions and convictions behind the public image. It’s a thoughtful half-hour that challenges first impressions, asking what truly lies behind a name in the news.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Profile
Podcast Episodes
David Lammy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:37
He’s not yet completed a hundred days in his new job, but David Lammy finds himself overseeing the UK’s response to rising tensions in the Middle East.Born to Guyanese parents in north London, and raised by his mother fr…
Eben Upton [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:21
It’s a tiny computer with a catchy name: Raspberry Pi. But what's the story behind the man who thought up this affordable device?His name is Eben Upton. He has gone from being a child desperate to make computer games, to…
Martin Hewitt [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:23
Some call it one of the trickiest jobs in the country. How do you stop the small boats trying to cross the English Channel and smash the smuggling gangs? The government has appointed Martin Hewitt to the role- he’s leadi…
Eluned Morgan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:38
This week we delve into the life of the First Minister of Wales Eluned Morgan, the first woman to hold the position. Morgan was introduced to politics at a very young age by her parents, who were both councillors. Her ea…
Lee Carsley [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:30
Some of world football's biggest names have been linked to England's top job since Gareth Southgate hung up his waistcoat. But, for now at least, it is Lee Carsley who takes over as England's interim manager.The modest,…
James Graham [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:29
James Graham’s writing obsession started at the age of six in the shadow of Nottinghamshire's former coalmines. Equipped with a typewriter from his mother he created hundreds of stories from the family home in Kirkby-in-…
JD Vance [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:50
From ‘hillbilly’ roots to becoming Donald Trump’s nominee for vice-president. At 39, if JD Vance is elected, he would be one of America’s youngest ever Vice-Presidents. A lot has been laid bare in his own words, in ‘Hill…
Shabana Mahmood [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 15:23
Shabana Mahmood is the new Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice. Born in Birmingham in a Kashmiri Pakistani family, she has three siblings, one of whom is her twin. From an early age her father ensured that…
Evan Gershkovich [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:55
Evan Gershkovich is the Wall Street Journal's Moscow reporter. He's been imprisoned in Russia since March last year, and has just gone on trial there - the first American journalist to be jailed in Russia since the Cold…
Shania Twain [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:58
Before she became one of the best-selling musicians of all time, Shania Twain worked for the family tree-planting business, singing for tips in lumberjack bars to help make ends meet. Stephen Smith charts the rise of a h…