Coup Atlas Research Database
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37002152024ConspiracyDissident coup

Belarus, 2024 — dissident coup conspiracy

Belarus (BLR)Eastern Europe, EuropeFebruary 15, 2024

Event Summary

This entry is coded 15 February 2024 in Belarus and falls in a period shortly before the country's 25 February 2024 parliamentary and local elections, within a documented pattern in which the government of President Alexander Lukashenko repeatedly announced foiled plots to overthrow or assassinate him, though no discrete coup plot precisely on that date is confirmed in the sources located for this entry. The clearest earlier instance of this pattern was the April 2021 affair, when Russia's Federal Security Service and the Belarusian KGB announced they had jointly foiled a plot to kill Lukashenko and stage an armed rebellion, detaining the US-Belarusian lawyer Yuri Zyankovich and the writer Alexander Feduta; that case was widely doubted as a provocation, and five people were eventually jailed in 2022. Lukashenko, in power since 1994 and holding elections that the opposition and Western governments consider neither free nor fair, has frequently accused Western intelligence services of trying to topple him.

The 15 February 2024 coding is best understood against this recurring pattern of coup and assassination-plot claims around sensitive political moments rather than a single confirmed plot on the day.

Researched Details

Researched

Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: Lukashenko's government repeatedly announced foiled plots against him in this era
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
President Alexander Lukashenko (target of the era's alleged plots)
the Belarusian KGB and Russian FSB
earlier detainees Yuri Zyankovich and Alexander Feduta

Sources

The Belarusian KGB announced it had dismantled an organised group of terrorist orientation planning the physical elimination of the president and his family and an armed rebellion to take power by violent means, and Lukashenko said two people, Alexander Feduta and Yuri Zenkovich, had been arrested.
SOURCE REVIEWED Euronews: Belarus, Lukashenko claims he foiled US-backed coup open source ↗
In September 2022 Belarus jailed five people, including Popular Front party leader Rygor Kastushev and US lawyer Yuri Zyankovich, over the alleged 2021 attempted coup, with the case widely doubted as a provocation.
SOURCE REVIEWED Euronews: Belarus jails five people, including party leader, for alleged attempted coup open source ↗
Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus since 1994 and claimed a landslide victory in a 2020 presidential election ruled fraudulent by the opposition and Western countries, has frequently accused Western countries of trying to topple him.
SOURCE REVIEWED Euronews: Belarus, Lukashenko claims he foiled US-backed coup open source ↗

Editorial Note

CONTEXT: no discrete coup plot precisely dated 15 Feb 2024 was confirmed in the sources located this session. The coded date falls just before Belarus's 25 Feb 2024 parliamentary and local elections; framed from the documented recurring pattern of Lukashenko-era plot claims (notably the verified, widely doubted April 2021 plot that led to 2022 jailings). Second Belarus record in the run (after Jul 2021).

Cross-Reference

Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.

Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:

Cline Center id
37002152024

How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Lukashenko's government repeatedly announced foiled plots against him in this era.

Baseline coding: Plot discovered and disrupted before execution. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.

Baseline Dataset Citation

Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
⚑ This citation establishes the coded baseline record; use the claim-level sources above for the researched narrative.

Baseline Source-Document Entries

Daily Beast

“Coup Preparations Announced Against Putin’s Top Ally in Europe,” February 28, 2024

The New Voice of Ukraine

“Belarusian Dissidents Plot to Topple Lukashenko, Timing Remains Secret,” February 29, 2024

Politico

“Belarusian Exiles Plot Coup Against Lukashenko,” February 28, 2024

This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →

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