Muraveika's Appointment to the Administration is Lukashenka's Combination, the Meaning of Which is Not Yet Clear

Previously, Muraveika held the position of Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces and First Deputy Minister of Defense. He was transferred to the new position two days after turning 55. As soon as he turned 55, he was immediately pushed out, although this general had an abundance of energy.

This reshuffle came as a surprise to everyone, as Major General Pavel Muraveika has a reputation for being thick-headed even by the standards of the current security establishment. And Pavel Latushka, knowledgeable in backstage rumors, called him a representative of the Russian lobby in the Belarusian power bloc. Muraveika studied at the Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Federation, which he graduated from in 2008 with a gold medal.

This general drew attention with his statements. For example, he said that Belarus has the right to forcibly cut a corridor through Lithuania to the sea. These words from the security official led to a real international scandal between Minsk and Vilnius. Muraveika also threatened neighboring countries with nuclear weapons and spoke of millions of cyberattacks on Belarus — complete nonsense.

In 2022, Muraveika was transferred to the position of First Deputy State Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus, and in 2024, he was even put in charge of the General Staff. Observers noted that Viktor Hulevich's resignation occurred after Lukashenka's return from Moscow, and Muraveika's appointment — on the day of Putin's visit to Minsk.

Now, as we see, the general has been transferred to the Administration. And allegedly at the personal request of Lukashenka himself, who emphatically stated that this was being done over the head of the Head of the Administration, Dzmitry Krutoy.

The mystery here is what exactly Muraveika will do in his official position. Lukashenka himself answers this question as follows: "As president and commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, it is very important for me to have several, if you will, alternative points of view on the situation in our security units," he noted.

Previously, security structures were coordinated by the Security Council. And now, in addition to it, will there be another Deputy Head of the Administration? What will his functions be then?

It seems that Lukashenka is preparing some changes in the security bloc. What these will be is difficult to say yet, but the combination is clearly designed and will be implemented gradually. The question is — what prompted the need for these changes? A banal desire to rejuvenate personnel while not giving Moscow the impression that a pro-Russian general has been sidelined? Or a purge of the apparatus from overly pro-Russian generals? Or is this just the first move in a routine personnel reshuffle, so that no one stays in one position for too long?

At the General Staff, Muraveika was replaced today by Major General Uladzimir Bely.

Quite recently, since July 8 of this year, he served as Deputy Minister of Defense. Before that, Bely headed the main directorate of combat training of the Armed Forces. At one time, Bely commanded a guards separate airborne brigade, and was chief of staff — first deputy commander of the Special Operations Forces, as well as commander of the Western Operational Command. Unlike Muraveika, Uladzimir Bely did not study in Russia — a rare case for the current general staff, rather an exception.

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