Vladimir Putin is the least experienced of the five long-lived political presidents

Baku / 11.08.20 / Turan: The current President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko claims to remain at the top post in this state for the sixth time in a row. Yesterday, despite massive protests across the country, the CEC of Belarus announced a significant excess of votes cast for Lukashenka. It is reported that according to preliminary data 82.3% voted for Lukashenka, 9.9% of voters voted for his political opponent Svetlana Tikhanovskaya.

Presidents I. Aliyev and  V. Putin congratulated Lukashenko on his victory in the elections.

The story of the then unknown Alexander Lukashenko began on July 10, 1994, when he passed the second round of the presidential elections in Belarus, gaining 80.1% of the vote. So he became the first president of independent Belarus. Since then, he has been the permanent president of this country, for 26 years already.

The longest-serving president in the post-Soviet space was Nursultan Nazarbayev, who ruled Kazakhstan since 1991 to 2019 - 28 years!

A. Lukashenko is in second place - 26 years old.

Islam Karimov should be considered the third political long-liver. He was the President of Uzbekistan from 1991 to 2016 - 25 years in the highest office.

I. Aliyev is the fourth in terms of the duration of his tenure at the highest post in the post-Soviet space. 17 years in the highest office of the country. He first became president of Azerbaijan in 2003, since then he has been running for the post every next election, elections are held, after which the country's CEC declares him president. On September 26, 2016, a referendum was held in Azerbaijan to extend the term of office of the country's president from five to seven years.

Vladimir Putin is the fifth longest running state. He was first elected President of Russia on March 26, 2000. He was re-elected to the post of head of state in 2004, 2012 and 2018. Before the 2012 elections, the presidential term was increased from 4 to 6 years. Putin has ruled Russia for 16 years, with a four-year break from 2008 to 2012, when Medvedev was Russia's president. The next presidential elections in Russia are expected on Sunday 17 March 2024. Putin does not rule out that he will run for the top post again.

The democracies of Europe and the United States maintain relations with each of these states, differing in the degree of mutual benefit. Despite the fact that in the political community of the United States and European countries, these presidents are considered dictators.

After a 12-year break, the US Ambassador to Belarus will soon return to Minsk. The United States and Europe are actively cooperating with Russia; even closer relations remain with Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. In 2003, US State Counselor Richard Armitage congratulated I. Aliyev on his victory in the elections, without waiting for the official announcement of the vote count in the CEC. Then the opposition declared the chairman of the Musavat party Isa Gambar the winner. After congratulations by Armitage, protest actions in Baku were suppressed by force and stopped. –0-