'Merch' store for Belarusian leader opens in Moscow

A store with Alexander Lukashenko-themed merchandise has opened in Russia. The outlet is located at the refurbished Belarus pavilion that was unveiled at the All-Russian Exhibition Center (VDNKh) in Moscow on Tuesday.

The store offers assorted merchandise, such as T-shirts, baseball caps, purses and other items adorned with select quotes from the Belarusian president, such as: “No emergency, undress and get to work;” “But I’m a dictator, it’s hard for me to understand democracy;” “We won’t let anyone bend us over” and so on.

The outlet also offers pillows that say, “If you want to know how I sleep, you have to sleep with me” for those who apparently want to get more intimate with the self-proclaimed “last dictator” of Europe.

The opening ceremony of the store was attended by multiple high-profile officials, including First Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Nikolay Snopkov, Belarusian ambassador to Russia Dmitry Krutoy, and others. The ceremony featured a small fashion show, with models parading around the presidential merchandise.

The first store offering Lukashenko-themed fan merchandise opened in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, last December. The tongue-in-cheek idea of a fan store materialized after the Belarusian president received a set of T-shirts featuring his own quotes for his birthday last year.