Authors

Discussion

The irreplaceable President of Belarus, Aliaksandr Lukashenka, can be complimented on providing a constant inspiration for the song writers at home and abroad, ever since his first election to the post in 1994. There are dozens of songs about him, often written not only by Belarusian but also by Russian musicians, in either Russian or Belarusian. These songs belong to a wide range of genres, from folk (‘Lukashenko luchshe v mire net’ by Krynichan’ka, 2015) and estrada (‘Nash prezident’ by Natal’ia Montik, 2008) to rock-n-roll (e.g. ‘Lukashenko rok-n-roll’ by Dmitrii Chernus’, 2006), rap (‘Daite gazu’ by Il’ich, 2011) and punk (‘Tvoi bats’ka fashyst’ by deviAtion, 2009). The songs can broadly be divided into three categories: pro-Lukashenka, anti-Lukashenka and ambivalent. The satirical and critical mood numerically dominates, especially in the songs by Russian authors (such as Murzilki International), whose peak seems to coincide with Dmitrii Medvedev’s relatively liberal presidency and Lukashenka’s 2010 re-election, when it was possible, publicly and with impunity, to criticize Lukashenka in the Russian media, often as a proxy figure for Russian domestic issues. A brief comparison of the main trends in the songs about Lukashenka with those about Lenin, Stalin and Putin will be made.