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Who is Alexander Lukashenko's wife? Galina was Belarus strongman's high school love

Alexander fell in love with Galina at first sight when they performed together in a show where she played Snow White

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko and his estranged wife, Galina Lukashenko are known to not only live separately but rarely meet. The First Lady of Belarus did not move with her husband to Minsk at the beginning of his presidential career, and she continues to not accompany her husband at public events. But despite the current state of affairs, the couple had a fairy tale start to their relationship.

Galina was reportedly Alexander's high school love and he began courting her after they performed together in a show where she played Snow White. The couple has two sons, Viktor Lukashenko and Dmitry Lukashenko. Though the two are still legally married, Galina and Alexander have been estranged since the time he became the President of Belarus. Alexander also has another son, 17-year-old Nikolai Lukashenko.

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Who is Galina Lukashenko?

Galina Lukashenko is the First Lady of Belarus and Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko's wife. She was born on January 1, 1955, in the Byelorussian SSR. Galina and Alexander met when they were in high school. She completed her studies at Mogilev State University and then got married to Alexander in 1975.

Talking about their love story, Galina told Komsomolskaya Pravda in 2005, "We studied at the same school, he was a year older. Sasha was so handsome, he often led school evenings, so many girls were in love with him. Because of this, the girls said that I came and took the best guy away. He came to visit me from Alexandria, four kilometers here and four kilometers back. In any weather: rain, blizzard, snow. We got married when I graduated from three courses, and Sasha had already received a diploma."

Galina didn't move to the capital with her husband after he was elected because their sons were finishing school and there was no one to leave the household to. "I decided not to go, but Sasha did not persuade," she said. When asked if she regrets her choice, Galina denied it and explained, "No, I chose this life myself. Of course, when the children grew up, it became lonely in the house. But children always leave - both in the city and in the countryside. Loneliness doesn't bother me. I read a lot, I like to go to the forest very much. I get very tired at work, people walk all day. I try to help as much as I can. Sometimes I'm so exhausted that I can't sleep."

On being asked what it felt like to realize that her husband was the president, she said, "I lived nearby, I saw his growth. He's an extraordinary person." Since January 1998, Galina has been the head of the department of the Mogilev Regional Executive Committee for the Improvement of the Population. Despite being the First Lady of Belarus, she is rarely seen in public.

Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Mikhail Chigir and his wife Julia became friends with Galina during the early days. "She is a wonderful and noble woman. I couldn't say a bad word about it. She always cared for her children and husband and was worried about his fate. She advised him well, but he never listened to her. Unfortunately, we no longer have contact with her. Lukashenko prevented her from meeting Julia," he said. Chigir added that Alexander treated Galina like a dog and said, "He only gave her orders that she had to obey."

Alexander has another son, Nikolai Lukashenko, who was born in 2004. Though never officially confirmed, it is believed that the child's mother is Irina Abelskaya, Alexander's former personal doctor. When asked about Nikolai's mother, he only answered, "She works as a doctor," reports Komsomolskaya Pravda. Nikolai has gone along with Alexander on many international visits, and the 67-year-old president has stated that "Kolya has warm relations with Putin."

In 2016, the media reported that no one could visit Galina without Alexander's consent. Reportedly, she leaves her home only on holidays to visit her children and grandchildren in Minsk. She is also not active on any social media platform.