Гомель у часы нацысцкай акупацыі. Фота з тэлеграм-канала "Пошукі старога Гомеля".
The authorities have added the Telegram channel of the “In Search of Old Homiel” project to the Republican List of Extremist Materials. The decision was made by the Central District Court of Homiel.
“The news is bad, but expected,” the authors of the local history project commented. “We will not wait for details of the case from an anonymous judge of the Central District Court of Homiel and an unknown applicant. Nor will we appeal this decision. We know very well the value of such decisions.
What could the unknown initiator of the proceedings have disliked? Our independent historical research on Homiel? The Belarusian language? A post published at some point during the 12 years of the project’s existence? Most likely, all of it together. Don’t look for logic here.”
The Telegram channel will continue operating, and new materials will be published as unique photographs are discovered. The online quiz format has been suspended for the time being.
The Homiel history research project has existed since 2015. It initially served as a platform to coordinate volunteers restoring historic wooden architectural decorations in Homiel. Over time, it developed into a local history community. In 2018, the authors presented the first large-scale 3D reconstructions of lost buildings from historic Homiel.
After 2020, the project came under pressure from the Belarusian authorities. Its VKontakte community was added to the list of extremist materials. The authors were forced to end their public activities in Belarus and have since continued their work primarily online.