A former Belarusian official who sided with the opposition vanished last year. A new investigation says FSB officers kidnapped him from a yacht in the Black Sea.

In 2020, Anatol Kotau resigned from the Belarusian presidential administration, saying he condemned the violence against participants in the protests against Alexander Lukashenko.

He then moved to Poland and began working with structures of the Belarusian opposition.

He was linked to what was once a popular Telegram channel called “Nick and Mike,” which published insider information about Lukashenko.

In August 2025, Kotau traveled to Turkey, set out to sea on a yacht, and vanished without a trace.

Neither Turkey nor Poland is investigating his disappearance.

Journalists from the Belarusian Investigative Center, OCCRP, and Deutsche Welle found that Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) was involved in Kotau’s disappearance.

Meduza recounts their investigation. ...