10 August 2025, 22:00

‘Good Lord!’ Details emerge on Lukashenko’s post-interview talk with TIME journalist

MINSK, 10 August (BelTA) – Simon Shuster, a journalist for the American TIME Magazine, presented his book about Vladimir Zelensky to Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko during their meeting, BelTA has learned.

Aleksandr Lukashenko spoke with the journalist for about three hours, including in an off-the-record format. Details that were left out of the interview were later shared in a broadcast on the Belarus 1 TV channel.

Simon Shuster, in particular, brought his book about Vladimir Zelensky and presented it to the Belarusian leader. Aleksandr Lukashenko asked how long it took him to write the book. The journalist replied that it took about six months.

“Good heavens! I’ve read parts of it. I’ll even donate it to the library. If we ask for another copy for my personal collection, will you give it to us? Or we can buy it,” the president said.

TIME is an American magazine and digital news platform headquartered in New York. Currently reaching approximately 30 million readers worldwide, primarily in the United States, where it has repeatedly been recognized as the nation's most popular print publication. TIME ranks among the world's most influential and widely-read political magazines.

Simon Shuster is an American journalist who has been a correspondent for TIME Magazine since 2013. He was born in Moscow in 1983. His family moved to the United States in 1989.

In 2006, Simon Shuster returned to Moscow, where he worked as a journalist covering Russian politics and neighboring states for The Moscow Times, The Associated Press, Reuters, and TIME Magazine. After publishing his article ‘In Russia, Crime Without Punishment’ about the downing of Boeing 777 in Donetsk Oblast, Simon Shuster was banned from entering Russia. As a result, he relocated to Berlin, where he covered events in Europe and the post-Soviet space. In February 2020, he moved to New York. He is also known for his reporting on the situation in Ukraine. In early 2024, Simon Shuster released the book The Showman: Inside the Invasion That Shook the World and Made a Leader of Volodymyr Zelensky.