Hienadz Karpienka
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Dr. Hienadź Karpienka (Belarusian: Генадзь Карпенка, IPA: [ʝe'nadzʲ kar'pʲenka]; Russian: Геннадий Карпенко, Gennady Karpenko, September 17, 1949 - April 6, 1999) was a Belarusian scientist and an important politician in opposition to president Alexander Lukashenko.
Hienadz Karpienka was born in Minsk.
In 1987 he director of the Maladzyechna metallurgy plant. In 1990 he made his PhD in Technology of Materials. Karpienka was author of 50 inventions implemented in 15 countries. In 1994 he was elected corresponding member of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus.
Karpienka was deputy of two Belarusian parliaments, he was leading the commission on science and technology. He was member and one of the leaders of the United Civic Party.
In 1992 he became Head of Maladzyechna Executive Committee (i.e. the city mayor). During two years of his being mayor Hienadz Karpienka introduced several local economic reforms, established musical and theatrical festivals, founded a local football club and performed a radical de-sovietization of the city's street names.
In 1996 Karpienka was leading the initiative of an impeachment of president Lukashenka that lacked few voices to succeed.
In 1998 Karpienka was head of the National Executive Committee, an oppositional shadow government. He was considered as the leader of the Belarusian opposition and as the most probable oppositional candidate for the upcoming presidential elections.
[edit] Unclear circumstances of death
On March 31, 1999 Karpienka was brought to hospital having cerebral hemorrhage. On April 1 he has been operated, but did not regain consciousness and died several days later.
The death of Hienadz Karpienka came very unexpected, because he never had such health problems before. A month after Karipenka's death, Jury Zacharanka, one of his closest friends and colleagues, was abducted. In a half year the same happened to Karpienka's second close colleague Viktar Hanchar. Some people in the Belarusian opposition, including Karpienka's family[1] bring these incidents into relation.
