Belarusian authorities are constructing a KGB National Security Academy across much of the former Zalataya Horka Catholic cemetery in central Minsk, according to an investigation by RFE/RL's Belarus Service.
The broadcaster says it obtained design documents and spoke to people linked to the project, which official papers describe only as a "multifunctional building" or leave out altogether. Satellite images showed a large construction pit by summer 2025 and a building frame by February 2026. The site lies next to the Church of St Roch.
A 2001 law bars most construction on old burial grounds, and a 2018 protection plan also restricts work there. The project's chief engineer told RFE/RL that a presidential decree had allowed it to go ahead. Heritage specialists and government opponents said the case showed the state's selective approach to the law.
Source: RFE/RL
Photo: Main entrance of the Church of Saints Simon and Helena, Minsk by Wowan1978, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Illustrative image of Minsk.
