Irina Abelskaya is a prominent figure in contemporary Belarus. Born in Brest, Belarus in 1965, she has had a successful healthcare career, rising from a regular pediatrician to the personal physician of the country’s president.
Abelskaya graduated from the Minsk State Medical Institute in 1988, specialising in pediatrics. She began her career as a pediatrician at Children’s Clinic No. 25 in Minsk.
After three years, she moved to the city’s endocrinological dispensary and later specialized in ultrasound diagnostics at the Minsk Diagnostic Center.
In 1994, when Alexander Lukashenko came to power in Belarus, Abelskaya was appointed to the Republican Clinical Medical Center of the Presidential Affairs Department. She has since accompanied Lukashenko on business trips and became the head doctor of the medical center in 2001.
Abelskaya is considered the mother of Lukashenko’s youngest son, Nikolai. While there has been no official commentary regarding the identity of Nikolai’s mother, this belief is widespread.
Abelskaya’s mother, Lyudmila Postoyalko, was also a doctor. She started her career as a district pediatrician at a children’s clinic and eventually became the Minister of Health of the Republic of Belarus.
She held the position of Minister of Health from July 30, 2002, until December 27, 2005.
Abelskaya is reportedly involved in the education sector too.
She registered a company called “Horizons of Knowledge” in 2019, which is associated with general secondary education. Despite being a public servant, she opened a private business, which is generally not allowed.
She is linked to the Minsk International Gymnasium, a private elite school built with funds from Russian oligarch Mikhail Gutseriev, a friend of Lukashenko. The school is known for educating the “golden youth” and has been the subject of controversy due to its funding sources.
She works as The Director of the Republican Clinical Medical Center of Lukashenko’s Administration now.
Irina Abelskaya, is known to have interacted with Auxillia Mnangagwa, the First Lady of Zimbabwe. In January 2023, Abelskaya visited Zimbabwe.
Later, in April 2023 Auxillia Mnangagwa visited the Republican Clinical Medical Center of Lukashenko’s Administration, which is headed by Irina Abelskaya.
“The visit began with a video presentation, after which the guest was shown departments that deal with screenings of oncological diseases, women’s health, diagnostics and rehabilitation, and specialist training,” reported the press service of the Ministry of Health of Belarus.
On April 11, 2023, there was a meeting between Alexander Lukashenko, the President of the Republic of Belarus, Auxillia Mnangagwa, the First Lady of Zimbabwe, Irina Abelskaya, Dmitry Pinevich, the Minister of Health, and Alexander Zingman.
