The regime of the self-proclaimed president of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko called "Long live Belarus!" and the answer "Long Live!" to the list of Nazi symbols.
This is reported by the Belarusian editorial office of "Radio Liberty".
The countryʼs authorities explain this step by the fact that it is allegedly the slogan of the 30th division of the Waffen-SS (Russian No. 2, aka Belarusian No. 1), which consisted mainly of former fighters of the "Belarusian national defense and was used in anti-partisan operations."
Therefore, it is now forbidden to shout "Long Live Belarus!" and answer "Long Live!" and accompany it by raising the right hand with the palm extended.
However, it remains unclear whether it is "Nazi" to shout without raising the right hand, and the response "Live forever!" instead of "Long Live!".
- In the modern form of the expression "Long Live Belarus!" first sounded in Yanky Kupalyʼs poem "This is the cry that lives Belarus", written in 1905-1907.
- Since the beginning of August 2020, Belarusian citizens have protested against the re-election of Lukashenko as president. Active protests lasted from August 9 to 11, when security forces detained the most people. Many of them were beaten and received punishment by court decision. More than 400 people have already been sentenced. 290 people in Belarus are recognized as political prisoners.
- In August 2021, Lukashenko ordered to revoke the citizenship of naturalized Belarusians for participating in protests.
- On February 10, 2022, the Embassy of Belarus in Kyiv sent a note of protest to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine due to an "act of vandalism": Mayor of Dnipro Boris Filatov replaced the Belarusian red-green state flag with a white-red one, which is a symbol of the national movement of Belarusians, in front of the city hall building.
- In August 2022, a court in Belarus recognized the social media accounts of the fictional country of Veishnoria as extremist. It was invented as a conditional enemy during the joint military exercises of Russia and Belarus in 2017.