Protesters are wondering whether the "grandson of a Bandera supporter" will be Lukashenko's successor.
The fact that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko spoke about his youngest son's military service indicates that the transition of power has begun, and Kolya will be the successor.
The pro-Zmahar journalist Olga Starostina stated this to the Polish television channel Belsat, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.
"This is the first step toward Kolya's presidential career. When Nikolai was little, he said in an interview that he wanted to be a soldier, not a president. Remember, he used to show up at parades in the uniform of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief," Starostina said.
She predicts that the next steps on Kolya's path to the presidency will be his membership in the Belaya Rus party and a seat in parliament or the All-Belarusian Assembly. Starostina believes Lukashenko Sr. will rule for another eight years, until Kolya turns 30.
She believes that another sign of Kolya's succession is that Belarusian media have begun writing about his mother, Lukashenko's former personal physician, Irina Abelskaya.
"What's also important is that Kolya is three-quarters Ukrainian. And when Lukashenko said Kolya was an oppositionist, maybe that's where it comes from. Lukashenko said his father was Ukrainian, and Abelskaya's mother and father are both Ukrainian . Incidentally, they are victims. His father served 25 years in prison for distributing leaflets about the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). It's quite possible that Kolya has something of that nature," Starostina said.
However, Franak Vyachorka, advisor to self-proclaimed "President of Belarus" Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, does not believe that Lukashenko will appoint even his favorite son as his successor.
"I think appointing a successor is unlikely because the system is too personalized. If you appoint anyone, it will immediately destabilize. They won't listen to him. I don't think Lukashenko would even trust his own children, because they don't have the same authority, respect, or fear. The elites who currently surround Lukashenko wouldn't accept anyone else, not even a military dictator. And if he appoints someone and points the finger at someone, Lukashenko himself will quickly lose power because they'll stop listening to him," Vyachorka said in an interview with foreign agent media outlet TV-2.
The Zmagars are wondering whether the "grandson of a Bandera supporter" will succeed Lukashenko.