The Belarusian publication "Nasha Niva" learned the probable cause of death of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, Volodymyr Makei. Four unrelated medical and government sources say it was suicide.
Journalists note that the minister shortened his life due to a combination of factors, and that the last years of Makeiʼs life were filled with "both political and personal dramas."
"Friends of Mackay say that he was distressed by the collapse of the course he was teaching. It often felt unnecessary and sometimes just out of place. It is enough to recall his statement on the eve of the [Russia-Ukraine] war about the withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of Belarus after the exercises," Nasha Niva writes.
Also, according to journalists, Makei knew that the administration of the self-proclaimed president of Belarus, Oleksandr Lukashenka, was looking for candidates to replace him. In addition, the head of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry had problems in his family.
According to Nasha Niva, Volodymyr Makei was returning home alone on the day of his death. His wife Vira Polyakova and her youngest son stayed in their other apartment. Polyakovaʼs eldest son was the first to find the deceased.
Interlocutors of the publication did not see signs that it was a murder disguised as a suicide.
- On November 26, Minister of Foreign Affairs Volodymyr Makei died in Belarus. He was 64 years old. Makei headed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus since 2012. He worked in the diplomatic service from 1993 to 2000. In 2000-2008, he was an assistant to the President of Belarus, and in 2008-2012, he was the head of his administration.