Igor Rachkovsky
Igor Rachkovsky | |
|---|---|
Ігар Рачкоўскі | |
| Chairman of the State Border Committee | |
| In office 10 April 2007 – 31 July 2012 | |
| President | Alexander Lukashenko |
| Preceded by | Alexander Pavlovsky |
| Succeeded by | Alexander Boechko |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 5 April 1968 Smarhon, Grodno region, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Belarus |
| Branch/service | State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus Border Guard Service of Belarus |
| Rank | Major general |
| Awards | Order "For Service to the Motherland" |
Igor Anatolyevich Rachkovsky (Russian: Игорь Анатольевич Рачковский; born 5 April 1968) is a Belarusian military officer and politician who was the chairman of the State Border Committee of the Republic of Belarus from 2007 to 2012 and later served as the President of the Belarusian Ice Hockey Association from 2014 to 2017.
Early life and education
[edit]Igor Rachkovsky was born on 5 April 1968 in Smarhon, Grodno region of the Byelorussian SSR.[1][2]
In 1990, he graduated from the Riga Higher Military Political School in Latvia. He also graduated from the Belarusian Institute of National Security in 1996 and earned a law degree from the Belarus State Economic University in 2001.[1]
Career
[edit]Rachkovsky began his service in the Strategic Rocket Forces before moving to military counterintelligence. He then joined the Border Guard Service of Belarus in 1998.[3] He worked at the Separate Service of Active Measures of the Border Troops and became its head in 2004.[1]
On 10 April 2007, he was appointed Chairman of the State Border Committee. Euroradio linked this appointment to the fact that the President's older son, Viktor Lukashenko, had served under Rachkovsky's command.[4] In that year, he was granted the rank of major general, becoming the youngest general in the history of independent Belarus at the age of 39.[3] In 2008, he became the head of the Belarus Yachting Federation.[5]
In 2007, Rachkovsky stated there should be no border infrastructure along the border with Russia.[6] Between 2009 and 2010, Belarus signed cooperation agreements with Frontex, the European Union border agency.[7] In 2010, the Belarusian parliament ratified a 1997 agreement with Ukraine on the state border.[8] During his speech to parliament on that occasion, Rachkovsky used the Belarusian language, which was rare for Belarusian state officials.[9]
He was dismissed on 31 July 2012 due to the violation of Belarusian airspace by a Swedish aircraft.[10] In November, he was appointed as the First Vice President of the Belarusian Olympic Committee[11] and became President of the Belarusian Ice Hockey Association in 2014.[12] He resigned from his position as president of the Hockey Association in 2017 due to the team's poor performance in the World Championship,[13][14] and simultaneously lost his position as the head of the Yachting Federation.[15]
Personal life
[edit]Igor Rachkovsky is married and has five children.[2] His family has a friendly relationship with that of Viktor Lukashenko.[16] He owns a cottage in Drazdy, an elite suburb where prominent Belarusian people reside.[17]
Rachkovsky also played on the Border Troops hockey team.[2]
Awards
[edit]- Third-degree order "For Service to the Motherland" (Belarus, 1999)[18]
- Honorary Diploma of the National Assembly (Belarus, 2008)[19]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Кто есть кто в Республике Беларусь. Рачковский Игорь Анатольевич" [Who is Who in the Republic of Belarus. Rachkovsky Igor Anatolyevich] (in Russian). Belorusskaya Delovaya Gazeta. Archived from the original on 2 March 2012.
- ^ a b c "Что бы ни случилось, стиснуть зубы и идти дальше…" [No matter what happens, grit your teeth and keep going]. Belarus Today (in Russian). 26 May 2007. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020.
- ^ a b "Игоря Рачковского после опалы ждет карьерный взлет?" [After falling out of favor, will Igor Rachkovsky's career take off?] (in Russian). United Democratic Forces of Belarus. 19 September 2014.
- ^ "Президент "отставил" самых близких соратников" [The President dismissed his closest associates]. Euroradio (in Russian). 11 April 2007.
- ^ "Новым председателем Белорусской федерации хоккея стал Игорь Рачковский" [Igor Rachkovsky has become the new chairman of the Belarusian Ice Hockey Federation]. minsknews.by (in Russian). 22 October 2014.
- ^ "Россия строит границу с Беларусью" [Russia is building a border with Belarus] (in Russian). United Democratic Forces of Belarus. 21 August 2018.
- ^ "Eastern European Borders Annual Risk Analysis 2015". prd.frontex.europa.eu. 18 May 2015. Archived from the original on 24 March 2022.
- ^ "Білоруський парламент ратифікував договір з Україною" [The Belarusian parliament ratified the agreement with Ukraine]. UNIAN (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 7 July 2022.
- ^ "Ці ёсьць у Беларусі роўнасьць моваў?" [Is there equality of languages in Belarus?]. RFE/RL (in Belarusian). Archived from the original on 28 April 2020.
- ^ "Лукашенко уволил генералов за шведских медвежат" [Lukashenko fired generals over the Swedish teddy bears]. BBC (in Russian). 31 July 2012. Archived from the original on 9 August 2025.
- ^ "«Плюшевый десант», или как игрушки привели к громким отставкам. А что будет по итогам Мачулищ?" [The 'Teddy Bear Airdrop,' or how toys led to high-profile dismissals. And what will be the outcome of Machulishchy?]. Nasha Niva (in Russian). 27 February 2023. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023.
- ^ "Игорь Рачковский возглавил Федерацию хоккея Беларуси" [Igor Rachkovsky has been appointed head of the Ice Hockey Federation of Belarus]. Belarus Today. 22 October 2014. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020.
- ^ "Старшыня фэдэрацыі хакею Рачкоўскі пайшоў у адстаўку. Яго замяніў Шапіра" [Rachkovsky, the head of the Hockey Federation, has resigned. He has been replaced by Shapiro]. RFE/RL (in Belarusian). 20 May 2017. Archived from the original on 9 May 2020.
- ^ "Нехакейная нацыя. 7 прычынаў правалу беларусаў у хакеі" [Not a Hockey Nation. 7 Reasons for Belarus's Failure in Hockey]. RFE/RL (in Belarusian). 15 May 2018.
- ^ "Серп на клюшку променял" [He traded the sickle for a hockey stick] (in Russian). Charter97. 8 June 2017. Archived from the original on 8 June 2017.
- ^ "Кто погорел на том, что сделал ставку на Виктора Лукашенко, а кто благодаря ему выстроил успешную карьеру" [Who got burned by betting on Viktor Lukashenko, and who built a successful career because of him?] (in Russian). United Democratic Forces of Belarus. 8 August 2023.
- ^ "От Абельской до Ермошиной: владельцы коттеджей в Дроздах, полный список" [From Abelskaya to Yermoshina: A complete list of cottage owners in Drozdy]. Nasha Niva. 11 May 2019. Archived from the original on 8 January 2023.
- ^ "О награждении группы военнослужащих пограничных войск государственными наградами Республики Беларусь" [On the Awarding of a Group of Military Personnel of the Border Troops with State Awards of the Republic of Belarus] (in Russian). President of Belarus. 20 September 1999. Archived from the original on 27 June 2021.
- ^ "О награждении В.Ю.Зайцева, И.А.Рачковского и А.Ю.Чернолевского Почетной грамотой Национального собрания Республики Беларусь" [On the awarding of the Honorary Diploma of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus to V.Yu. Zaitsev, I.A. Rachkovsky, and A.Yu. Chernolevsky]. etalonline.by (in Russian). National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus. 15 October 2008.