Юрий Селиверстов. Скриншот эфира "Беларусь 1".
Yury Seliverstau, previously serving as finance minister, has been appointed Belarus’s new ambassador to Russia.
Seliverstau will also concurrently serve as Belarus’s representative to integration bodies and has been granted the powers of a deputy prime minister.
Until recently, Belarus’s ambassador to Russia was Alyaksandr Rahozhnik. On Jan. 15, Alyaksandr Lukashenka appointed him chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee.
Lukashenka said Seliverstau was the most suitable candidate for the post of ambassador, as he is familiar with trade-related problems between Belarus and Russia.
“I have absolutely no complaints about your work. Understanding that you are a calm person, I always tried to spur you on so that, God forbid, you would not give away anything extra from the budget to anyone, although we never had such facts. Understanding that you are a person who, as Dzmitry Mikalayevich (Krutoy, head of the Presidential Administration) says — I did not really see this — is tough, assertive, a restless type in a good sense, ready to rush around the country and neighboring countries.
I thought, why not have such a person work in Russia, where it is necessary to visit regions, work and cooperate with Russian regions, keep the main areas of our activity in the Russian Federation under control. And first of all in trade. You are absolutely immersed in these issues. You know the main problems we have in Belarusian-Russian relations. I came to the conclusion that of all the candidates proposed, you are probably the one who would be suitable to work in Russia,” Lukashenka said.
Lukashenka stressed that Russia is Belarus’s main market and principal investor.
“We often say that the embassy in Russia is not just an embassy. It is a second government. Because this is our main market where we sell our products. And it is the main country that invests in us and always helps us. This is our Russia. Therefore, you cannot send just anyone there. The level must be appropriate, as well as knowledge and the desire to work. That is why we settled on your candidacy,” Lukashenka explained.
In November 2025, Seliverstau shared plans to attract additional funds from Russia to repay public debt.
“To repay it, it will be necessary to attract additional resources, which we plan to obtain in the form of financial assistance from the Russian Federation in accordance with previously reached agreements,” he said.
Seliverstau was born in Minsk in 1978. He graduated from the Belarusian State Economic University and the Academy of Public Administration under the President. Since 2002, he worked at the Finance Ministry in various positions. In June 2020, he was appointed finance minister.