Alexander Lukashenko marks 30 years in power as leader of Belarus

President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus gives a speech during a military parade in Minsk, Belarus, on May 9, 2020, that marked the anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in the Second World War (Pool Photo via AP)

For three decades, European leaders have come and gone by the dozen, but Alexander Lukashenko remains in absolute control of Belarus.

His longevity is thanks to a mixture of silencing dissent, reverting to Soviet-style economic controls and methods, and cozying up to Russia, even as he sometimes flirted with the West.