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The work is based on a number of personal interviews with the Belarusian head of state. “I would like to think that my analysis of Lukashenko’s figure is balanced. I have interviewed him twice for seven hours in total. We had a three-hour interview in June 2011 and then an interview in July 2014 that lasted for four hours. This communication left an unforgettable impression on me,” Grigory Ioffe said.

In his words, Alexander Lukashenko is a bright personality. “He is very natural. It is a person whose level as a politician goes beyond his state. Lukashenko is far more dynamic and flexible. It is a person that has made himself, a person who keeps a cool head amid a sharp crisis, a person that is difficult to crack up,” the American professor believes.

However, the book is not only about the Belarusian leader. The first chapters analyze the economic and social context. The first chapter is about the Belarusian economy, its peculiarities, its special nature, dependence on the Russian raw materials, and continuing economic growth since 1996. The next chapter is dedicated to the Belarusian society. “Only then Lukashenko’s figure is seen in full length. The fourth chapter tells the biography of the Belarusian leader. The final chapter contains 12 refrains I learnt from the interviews with Lukashenko,” the author said.

The supplement makes up a quarter of the book. Reading transcripts of the interviews one can make his/her own opinion of the Belarusian leader.

According to the writer, the book is aimed at challenging the cliches in respect to Belarus and its leader.