# Former rector of a Vitsebsk university gets 4-year suspended sentence for fictitious student enrolment

- URL: https://syn.by/en/state/courts/vitsebsk-university-rector-suspended-sentence/
- Published: 2026-11-05T13:30:25+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-05T13:30:25+00:00
- Section: Courts
- Language: en
- RU edition: https://syn.by/ru/gosudarstvo/sudy-ru/byvshemu-rektoru-vitebskogo-vuza-dali-4-goda.md
- BE edition: https://syn.by/dziarzhava/sudy/rektaru-viciebskaj-vnu-4-hady-umouna.md

> The court found him guilty of abuse of office: in 2020–2022, on his instructions, subordinates fictitiously enrolled applicants in state-funded places. He did not receive an actual prison term: the custodial sentence was deferred for three years.

![](https://syn.by/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/illustration-6288-1024x585.webp)

The court found the former rector of one of Vitsebsk's universities guilty of abuse of office and sentenced him to four years of imprisonment and a fine of 18000 rubles. Execution of the sentence is deferred for three years, so he will not go to a penal colony for now. This was reported by non-state Belarusian outlets.

The verdict was handed down under part 3 of Article 426 of the Criminal Code. The former rector has also been banned for five years from holding positions involving organisational-administrative and administrative-economic duties.

According to a Vitsebsk Telegram channel, the case concerns the fictitious enrolment of 95 students. Among them, it is reported, were people who had not submitted documents and people who were already studying at the university. All of them were expelled before 1 September.

Yuliya Alyakseyeva stated that this practice systematically distorted departmental and state statistical reporting and prevented the fulfilment of the state order plan for training in-demand specialists. In her words: "As a result, it was impossible to take timely measures to recruit applicants in line with the control figures."

The court found that the rector gave subordinates "unlawful instructions on the fictitious enrolment of applicants as full-time students at the expense of the budget". This took place during the admission campaigns of 2020–2022. According to reports, this scheme made it possible to meet the control figures for enrolment and to hide a shortfall in student numbers.

The name of the university and the surname of the convicted man were not given in the first reports. The Telegram channel suggested that the case concerns the Vitsebsk State Academy of Veterinary Medicine, which was headed in 2020–2022 by Mikalai Haurychenka. This is the channel's assumption; it has not been officially confirmed.

The Vitsebsk Region Prosecutor's Office sent the criminal case on abuse of office to court in August 2026.