The Interior Ministry has added a new “extremist formation,” “Viejšnoryja” to its list. The relevant decision by the ministry is dated March 2.
In connection with the designation, the name of art manager Aleh Larychau is mentioned. His detention became known at the end of last November. In December, he was transferred to a pre-trial detention center in a politically motivated criminal case. Larychau has been recognized as a political prisoner.
The Interior Ministry’s list also includes the Telegram resources “Viejšnoryja” and “Urban Myths,” Larychau’s personal pages on VKontakte, Odnoklassniki and X, as well as a logo in the form of a grid consisting of intersecting white lines on a black background.
It should be recalled that Viejšnoryja is a fictional entity that served as a conditional adversary in the scenario of the Belarusian-Russian Zapad-2017 military exercises. The idea of such a “country” appealed to Belarusians at the time and gave rise to numerous memes and initiatives, including humorous “Viejšnoryjan citizenship.”
It should be noted that accusations of extremism are used by the Belarusian authorities to combat opponents and dissent in general.