Yury Khadzhimuratavich Karayeu (, , Yuriy Karayev, born 21 June 1966) is a Russian-born

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

ian General of ''

Militsiya ''Militsiya'' ( rus, милиция, 3=mʲɪˈlʲitsɨjə, 5=, ) were the police forces in the Soviet Union until 1991, in several Eastern Bloc countries (1945–1992), and in the Non-Aligned Movement, non-aligned Socialist Federal Republic ...

'' and the current governor of the Grodno region since 2025. He was the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus from 11 June 2019 to 29 October 2020. He is also a Major General of the Police.

Biography

Karayeu was born on 21 June 1966 in the capital of North Ossetia, Ordzhonikidze (now

Vladikavkaz Vladikavkaz, formerly known as Ordzhonikidze () or Dzaudzhikau (), is the capital city of North Ossetia–Alania, Russia. It is located in the southeast of the republic at the foothills of the Caucasus, situated on the Terek (river), Terek River. ...

). He graduated from the

Saratov Saratov ( , ; , ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River. Saratov had a population of 901,361, making it the List of cities and tow ...

Military Institute of the Interior Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Soviet Union in 1987 and was sent to serve in Mahiliou,

, then part of the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. He was later transferred to an operational regiment stationed in

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

and spent several months serving in the

Southern Caucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and West Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Armenia, ...

during the

First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War was an ethnic conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nag ...

. In 1996 or 1997, he graduated from the

Frunze Military Academy The M. V. Frunze Military Academy (), or in full the Military Order of Lenin and the October Revolution, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Academy in the name of M. V. Frunze (), was a military academy of the Soviet and later the Russian Armed Forces ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, Russia. In 1999-2009 he served as commander of various police and internal troops units in

Babruysk Babruysk (, ) or Bobruysk (, ; , ) is a city in Mogilev Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Babruysk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. It is situated on the Berezina, Berezina River. Bab ...

, Homiel and

. In 2009, Karayeu was appointed First Deputy Chief of Operational and Combat Training of Internal Troops at the

Ministry of Internal Affairs An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the i ...

. From 2012 to 11 June 2019 he was the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus and commander of the

Internal Troops of Belarus Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus (; ) is a paramilitary law enforcement force in the Republic of Belarus under the national Ministry of Internal Affairs. All personnel are trained in the Internal Troops Faculty of ...

. On 11 June 2019 he was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus by President Alexander Lukashenko.

The protests of 2020 and aftermath

Yury Karayeu has been one of the central figures of the 2020 Belarusian protests following the disputed

2020 Belarusian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Belarus on Sunday, 9 August 2020. Early voting began on 4 August and ran until 8 August. Incumbent Alexander Lukashenko was announced by the Central Election Commission of Belarus, Central Election Commissi ...

. On the 4th day of protests after the presidential elections, Karayeu confirmed that the Ministry of Internal Affairs officers were allowed to use force against the protestors. On 29 August, the Coordination Council of the Belarusian democratic opposition called for Karayeu's resignation following his responsibility for

police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or Public order policing, a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, b ...

during the protests on the first days after the election. Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus (11 June 2019 - 29 October 2020), Police Lieutenant General. Head of punitive operations against civilians during the 2020 protests. Responsible for the concealment of the election results in August 2020, who gave orders for the violent dispersal of peaceful rallies and the use of rubber bullets, firearms, flash grenades and water cannons against unarmed protesters, as well as for violence and torture in the Belarusian security forces and prisons. On 31 August 2020 Karayeu was included in the list of persons who were banned indefinitely from entering Latvia, as well as received a five-year ban on entry into Estonia and a ban on entry into Lithuania due to the fact that by his actions he organized and supported the "falsification of the presidential elections on August 9" and subsequent violent suppression of peaceful protests. On 2 October 2020, Karayeu was banned from entering the European Union and put on the

Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List The Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, also known as the SDN List, is a United States government sanctions/embargo measure targeting U.S.-designated terrorists, officials and beneficiaries of certain authoritarian regimes, a ...

by the

United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the Treasury, national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current United States federal executive departments, U.S. government departments. ...

. He was also sanctioned by the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Canada. On 29 October 2020 Karayeu, by presidential decree, was removed from office. On the same day he was appointed Assistant to the President of the Republic of Belarus - Inspector for the Grodno Region. On 4 March 2021 the

BYPOL The Association of Security Forces of Belarus (), also known as BYPOL, is a Belarusian organization that was created by former employees of law enforcement agencies to counter the Belarusian authorities. The association has channels on YouTube an ...

initiative published an audio recording of Karaev's alleged address to the staff of the Chief Organized Crime and Corruption Fighting Directorate (, GUBOPiK) in autumn 2020. In the transcript of the speech, the then Minister of Internal Affairs makes insults towards

Belarusians Belarusians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Belarus. They natively speak Belarusian language, Belarusian, an East Slavic language. More than 9 million people proclaim Belarusian ethnicity worldwide. Nearly 7.99&n ...

and also instructs the employees of the GUBOPiK regarding the ways and methods of extrajudicial reprisals against people. On 19 March 2021 it was reported by the Russian news agency

TASS The Russian News Agency TASS, or simply TASS, is a Russian state-owned news agency founded in 1904. It is the largest Russian news agency and one of the largest news agencies worldwide. TASS is registered as a Federal State Unitary Enterpri ...

that

Alexander Lukashenko Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (also transliterated as Alyaksandr Ryhoravich Lukashenka; born 30 August 1954) is a Belarusian politician who has been the first and only president of Belarus since the office's establishment in 1994, making hi ...

has named Karayeu and Health Minister Vladimir Karanik as his preferred choices for succeeding him as

President of Belarus The president of the Republic of Belarus is the head of state of Belarus. The office was created in 1994 with the passing of the Constitution of Belarus by the Supreme Council of Belarus, Supreme Council. This replaced the office of Supreme_Counc ...

in the event Lukashenko leaves office. In March 2025, Karayeu was appointed governor of the Grodno region.

Family

Yury Karayeu is married and has a son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karayeu, Yury 1966 births Living people Belarusian generals Frunze Military Academy alumni Interior ministers of Belarus 21st-century governors People from Vladikavkaz People of the Nagorno-Karabakh War Belarusian people of Ossetian descent Belarusian individuals subject to U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctions Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List

Biography

The protests of 2020 and aftermath

Family

See also

References