What Tolkien and his rings explain to us about Lukashenka better than political scientists
That Lukashenka is obsessed with power has long become a dogma — but do we think about what it means to be obsessed with power? The key to understanding him is in the characters of Saruman and Gollum, writes Mikhas Yasnotka.
Alexander Lukashenka between Vladimir Putin and Kolya, June 27, 2025. Photo by Sergei Karpukhin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP
We are all connected to each other by more or less strong relationships of subordination, but they are, as a rule, rational. Obsession is irrational — the decisions of an obsessed person are often impossible to explain by common sense. It's a big mistake to try to predict the behavior of such a person based on your own rational motives. Finally, it must be remembered that obsession is an addiction. To deprive an obsessed person of the object of their obsession means to deprive them of their reason for existence.
All these are axioms, without which it is impossible to understand what kind of person has been at the head of Belarus for more than 30 years. But to truly understand the motives of such people, one can call upon (yes, it's already possible) political science, clinical psychology, sociology, political economy, and even classical literature, not to mention theology and mythology. The task is fundamental — we need to comprehend the nature of power, and its phenomenon extends far beyond the scope of a single science.
But we are lucky — Tolkien has already done almost all the work for us. Let's recall briefly: there was a Sauron (someone like Satan) who understood human, Elvish, and Dwarvish nature quite well and "helped" the knowledge-greedy Elves forge seven Rings of Power for the Dwarves and nine for Men. Three Elven rings were forged without his involvement. And his Ring, the One, he forged himself to subjugate all the others.
It is about this Ring — absolute power incarnate — that we know the most.
Through it, Boromir practically lost his mind; Faramir, Galadriel, Gandalf, and many others were tempted by it.
Gollum, who possessed the Ring for 500 years (but used it "for trifles," which is why he lasted so long), went mad after losing it. (Names, titles, and quotes are given according to R. Tolkien, "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" translated by K. Kurchankova and D. Mahilyoutsau.)
Frodo would not have been able to carry the Ring to Mount Doom alone — he would simply have put it on and declared himself its master much earlier, but the rational voice of his best friend held him back until the last moment. Ultimately, even with Sam's help, Frodo would not have been able to destroy the Ring without Gollum's intervention. And then, having lost it irrevocably, Frodo could not come to terms with reality and sailed with the Elves to the Blessed Realm, where there is no place for the sorrows of this world.
Other characters from "The Lord of the Rings" — the Nazgûl — help us understand the phenomenon of power even better. These are kings of men who received nine rings and eventually became enslaved by the Lord — the creator of the One Ring. These are people who had kingdoms but craved more — and accepted the rings of power. Here it is, the nature of obsession: you possessed the ring, but in the end, it possessed you and made you its slave. In this sense, a Nazgûl is a slave to power. And a slave to the "ruler" of Mordor.
But perhaps we will guess most accurately with our character if we recall Saruman. He very much wanted to get the Ring for himself. Paradoxically, by doing so, he would have become the master of Mordor — and those who have long studied Belarusian politics know that in pre-Putin times Lukashenka dreamed of leading Russia (or the "Union State"). But then Sauron appeared, the Ring slipped from his hands, and Isengard became an industrial center that forged weapons for Mordor and prepared an army for the capture of Rohan. Here's an interesting fact — in Tolkien, Rohan is called Riddermark — it's a land of knights, a borderland that served as a defense for the inner lands of the realm. In the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL), such lands were called *ukraina*, and this is precisely how Kurchankova and Mahilyoutsau translate Riddermark in their most prominent translation. According to the book, orcs entered the *ukraina* from the territory controlled by Saruman... Well, you see everything for yourselves.
Saruman's fate is unenviable. Once a great wizard who possessed charisma ("the voice of Saruman"), he first became Sauron's puppet, and then tried to implement collectivization and industrialization in the Shire — but was ultimately killed by his servant Wormtongue.
The West tried to talk to him: "You may leave Orthanc free — if you choose to do so yourself." But Saruman made his choice, refused to leave the tower in which he had locked himself — and lost the remnants of legitimacy: "Saruman, your staff is broken."
Donald Trump's special envoy John Cole and Alexander Lukashenka, September 11, 2025. Photo by Belarusian Presidential Press Service via AP
Of course, even brilliant literature or well-developed science does not provide a complete picture. Every specific person is always both simpler and more complex than any concepts and images into which we want to squeeze him or her. But Tolkien warns us: the ring of power destroys the essence of a person, and its slave retains no values other than the ring itself — other than the power it embodies.
This warning also rings true when one reads something like, "Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is trying to restrain Europe from using sanctions relaxations that could lead to the release of political prisoners in Belarus and the cessation of repression." For those who have not read the books but were satisfied with just the movie, it might be surprising to learn that Saruman, having fled Isengard, subjugated the Shire, and the hobbits, upon returning from their journey, had to liberate it. One can imagine Saruman "stopping repressions" if Merry and Pippin stop "pressuring." This brings to mind the character of Wormtongue, who died in the book, but in our world continues to live in many persons — for their name is legion.
And yet, as they say, it's not by Saruman alone that we explain our hero. Remember Gollum too — perhaps the most ambiguous character of "The Lord of the Rings."
"Everything about him is clear!" — said Sam.
"We must try to save him," — replied Frodo.
In the Ring-divided personality of Gollum-Sméagol, light lived almost until the very end, and had Frodo not tried to save him, the ending of the story would have been different.
Let us remember our values, says Tolkien. Otherwise, the master of the Ring will win — even by our own hands.