April 9, Pozirk. Alaksandar Łukašenka has appointed Dźmitryj Žuk as information minister, transferring his predecessor Marat Markaŭ to the culture ministry, the Belarusian ruler’s press office reports.
Žuk had previously served as editor in chief at the state-controlled SB. Belarus.Segodnya.
“You’re already a capable person, ideologically sound, and you know what needs to be done,” Łukašenka’s press office quoted him as saying. “That’s why I have absolutely no objection to you trying yourself out in this position. Although I find it very regrettable when a practitioner like you moves into management.”
Markaŭ’s tenure as information minister lasted less than two years and was marked by blacklisted online information resources, censorship, propaganda and an expanding list of banned books.
Last year, the official accused independent media of working to “destroy” Belarus and pushing the country to a “Ukrainian scenario” in 2020. “When it was necessary to take drastic measures, we took them. Call it censorship if you please,” he said.
Before his government role, Markaŭ had served as top executive at the state-run ONT TV. He was known as a staunch Łukašenka’s supporter. In 2021, he interviewed former opposition journalist Raman Pratasievič, who was captured after the forced landing of a Ryanair plane in Minsk.
Łukašenka also made several other appointments today, placing Andrej Mochar in charge of the state-run news agency BelTA. His predecessor Iryna Akułovič will start diplomatic service at the Belarusian embassy in Russia.
Michaił Orda, former chairman of the pro-government Federation of Trade Unions, has been appointed the new head of Belarus’ diplomatic mission in Mongolia.
The Belarusian ruler also approved several new regional officials, including deputy chairmen of the Viciebsk Regional Executive Committee: Alaksiej Hujda and Piotr Bieluś. Other appointments in the Viciebsk region include Alena Babinskaja as new head to the Brasłaŭ district and Leanid Mojžyk to the Orša district as well as Alaksandar Časnojć in the Hrodna region’s Voranava district.
