Lukashenka's Ex-Secretary of State Petkevich Lives in the U.S., Although She Banned from Entering It

• 9.06.2022, 9:07

She settled in New York.

Natallia Petkevich was considered one of the most influential people in the Lukashenka regime. She was 29 years old when she got her first high position near Lukashenka - press secretary. In November 2004, she was appointed Deputy Head of Lukashenka's Administration. In 2009, Natallia Petkevich became the first deputy head of the administration. Since September 2011, she held the position of the dictator's assistant. Lukashenka fired her in October 2014, writes The Village Belarus.

It is still unclear why Lukashenka's longtime aide left. There have been various rumours about it. Shortly before Petkevich's dismissal, there was a scandal: a recording of a telephone conversation between the prankster Vovan and Lukashenka leaked to the Internet. He introduced himself as the son of Viktor Yanukovych and asked for asylum for his family in Belarus; Lukashenka agreed. This scandalous phone conversation was coordinated by Petkevich, and many believed it was the reason for her unexpected dismissal. Petkevich did not comment on her dismissal, nor did Lukashenka. A few months later, he said she had been offered new positions, but she "may take care of her health for now".

In 2015, she unexpectedly became the head of the travel company Shanter ("Shykouvny Adpachynak Na Terytorii Radzima"), owned by Alexander Shakutin, a businessman close to Lukashenka. "It's neither my hobby nor business, it's just fate," Natallia said.

In 2018, Shanter and Wellness Solutions Pvt, Ltd (India) opened the first Ayurveda (Indian pseudoscience) medicine centre in Belarus - also with Petkevich's participation. In the same year, she married for the third time - to diplomat Valentin Rybakov, who has been Belarus' permanent representative to the UN since 2017.

Since then, Natallia Petkevich has been living in the United States, although she is still formally under sanctions and banned from entering the States. Rybakov managed to bring his wife to the U.S. through the UN, but the freedom of movement in this country for Natallia is severely restricted. She is allowed to go only to New York, but even there her visits are limited to a 25-kilometre zone. Every time she enters the states, she encounters difficulties. "When I come to the United States, they take me along with the illegals, and I sit in the cell while some excruciating calls are made. The U.S. border guards do not understand a young, seemingly normal woman, and what she is doing there. It is unclear why she is not allowed to enter?

It is not known whether Natallia has any business in New York, but she has an active social life, at least she had before the war. A tweet of human rights advisor Ravi Batra, who calls Valentin Rybakov his friend, visits the Petkevich and Rybakov families made it known about her. Interestingly, unlike his other colleagues, Batra often tags the permanent representative of Belarus to the UN with a note "Natallia and Valentin".