Belarus’s strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko, condemned as Europe’s last dictator, last Thursday took his youngest son Kolya, whom he calls his “talisman,” for his first day at a shinily renovated school.
The first item on state television news showed Lukashenko and his seven-year-old son walking hand-in-hand into the school in a village outside the capital Minsk, close to one of the president’s country houses.
Lukashenko has called the fair-haired boy — born in an extra-marital relationship — his lucky charm. “He is my talisman, my cross,” Lukashenko once said of the boy.
Photo: AFP
照片：法新社
The identity of Nikolai’s mother is not officially reported. Lukashenko himself has said in an interview that she is a doctor. Lukashenko’s wife is rarely seen in public.
Nikolai, known by his nickname Kolya, often accompanies Lukashenko to official events, sometimes wearing a miniature military uniform. He appeared at his father’s inauguration ceremony and even at a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI.
Lukashenko said last year that his son “would go to the most ordinary school,” but the school he picked was recently renovated at a reported cost of US$3 million (NT$87.05 million) and equipped with a modern gym and a swimming pool.
Kolya, dressed in a gray suit, gave his new teacher a bunch of flowers and sat with his classmates in 1B, while his father dropped in, telling pupils to “study hard and be cheerful and healthy.”
Lukashenko also gave a speech to the whole school and parents, saying that “children are our greatest treasure.”
The first day of school on Sept. 1 is marked with elaborate ceremony in the former Soviet Union, with children dressed in formal clothes and bringing huge bouquets of flowers for teachers.
(AFP)
白俄羅斯強人亞歷山大‧盧卡申科上週四帶著他的小兒子柯亞，首日到一所被翻修而光亮奪目的學校就學。盧卡申科被譴責為歐洲最後一位獨裁者，他則稱其小兒子為他的護身符。
國家電視新聞頻道的第一則新聞，即是盧卡申科與其七歲兒子手牽手，步行前往首都明斯克近郊，一座靠近總統鄉間別墅村落的學校。
盧卡申科稱這位備受寵愛的男孩─其私生子─為其護身符。他說：「他是我的護身符，我的十字架。」
尼可拉親生母親的身份並未正式被報導。盧卡申科已在一次訪談中親口透露，她是一位醫師。盧卡申科的妻子，也鮮少公開露面。
小名為柯亞的尼可拉，經常伴隨盧卡申科出席正式場合，有時會穿迷你版的軍服。他曾出現在父親的就職典禮，甚至現身教宗本篤十六世的會面場合。
盧卡申科說，去年他兒子「原本要去再平凡不過的學校」，但是他選擇的該所學校，直到最近才完成翻修，據報導耗資達三百萬美元（新台幣八千七百零五萬元），且校內有一座現代體育館與一座游泳池。
身穿灰色西裝的柯亞，獻給他的新老師一大束花，並且與同班同學一同坐在1B的教室，而他父親也順道進入該教室，勉勵學生要「用功念書，並且保持愉快與健康」。
盧卡申科也對該校師生與家長發表演說，他說：「孩童是我們最大的財富。」
這個前蘇聯盟國的白俄羅斯，以排場浩大的儀式慶祝九月一日開學日。當天學童穿正式服裝，並且帶大束鮮花獻給老師。
（法新社／翻譯：林亞蒂）
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