Russia thanks Lukashenko for facilitating Butyagin’s release

MOSCOW, 29 April (BelTA) - The Russian State Duma has thanked Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko for his assistance in the return of the Russian archaeologist and historian Alexander Butyagin and the wife of a Russian serviceman, Nina Popova, BelTA has learned.

“We are grateful to the Belarusian security services for the help they provide to Russia. And our deep gratitude goes to Aleksandr Grigoryevich Lukashenko,” Alexey Chepa, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, told reporters.

The successful return of Alexander Butyagin and Nina Popova to Russia was the result of a complex, multi-stage operation. It was carried out by Belarus’ State Security Committee (KGB) in coordination with Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) and the security services of several other countries. The KGB officers were acting on the orders of Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, who personally conducted negotiations with the leaders of the countries involved.

Alexander Butyagin’s return has sparked a lot of interest in Russia. He was detained by the Polish side on 4 December 2025 when he was traveling from the Netherlands to the Balkans during a European lecture tour. A court ordered the scientist’s extradition to Ukraine, where he was accused of conducting illegal archaeological excavations in Crimea. In Ukraine Alexander Butyagin faced up to 10 years in prison.

Russian Ombudswoman Tatyana Moskalkova said that the case of Alexander Butyagin is a flagrant violation of fundamental human rights that has caused irreparable damage to the principles of international scientific cooperation.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, the archaeologist’s detention in Poland was based on an entirely fabricated pretext. “It has become a telling example of the gross legal arbitrariness that reigns in the collective West,” she emphasized.