Stanislau Halkouski, prominent Gomel propagandist, dies at 45

Stanislau Halkouski, former deputy editor-in-chief of "Homel Vedomosti" and state television presenter, died on October 31. His death was announced by relatives and close friends on his Facebook page. The cause of death was not specified in the message, writes "Shtodzen'."

In recent months, the propagandist had been posting depressing messages on social media, complaining that "he was fed up with everything."

Halkouski worked for many years in state media, wrote for "Sovetskaya Belorussiya," and from late 2021, held the position of deputy editor-in-chief of "Homel Vedomosti." On the TV channel "Belarus 4. Homel," he hosted the program "Mneniya" (Opinions).

After 2020, he actively supported the official agenda: criticized political emigrants, was nostalgic for the USSR, and downplayed the significance of Stalin's repressions. In one of his materials, he called the repressions of the 1930s in Homel "a drop in the ocean" compared to Nazi crimes.

However, at the end of 2022, his career in Homel state media was interrupted. According to reports at the time, Halkouski was among those laid off at regional television. From "Homel Vedomosti," as "Shtodzen'" previously found out, he left voluntarily. The position of deputy editor-in-chief was taken by Vital Prystromau, a lieutenant colonel and former head of the public relations department of the regional police.

In September 2026, "Shtodzen'" wrote that Halkouski became an author for "Belorusskaya Lesnaya Gazeta" (Belarusian Forest Newspaper) — a sectoral publication of the Ministry of Forestry system. Instead of political columns, he published materials about forests and animals, including about the friendship between a wild deer and a domestic horse near Zhlobin.

Activist Andrey Stryzhak recalls that he met Halkouski in 2004 — they both participated in the democratic civic initiative "Partnership," which was involved in election observation. In 2006, a criminal case was initiated against "Partnership," and Mikalai Astreika, Aliaksandr Shalaika, Tsimokh Dranchuk, and Enira Branitskaya were arrested.

"After these events, at least two Homel participants of 'Partnership' defected to the side of the Lukashenka supporters. Stanislau Halkouski and Aliaksandr Dabryan. The former passed away today, and the latter now heads the state television and radio company 'Homel'," Stryzhak wrote.

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