7 absurd ways to get into trouble in Belarus

Photo of a dog

A photo of the dog cost a resident of Navapolack BYN 3700 ($1123). On her Odnoklassniki page, the woman posted a photo with a dog dressed in a red jumpsuit. The words "Long Live Belarus!" and "No to violence!" were also found in the account. As a result, "in the aggregate," it was considered a "mass event" held without permission from the local authorities.

Manicure and bathtub colors

"Forbidden symbols were on her nails," this is how the local TV channel explained why the Mahiloŭ resident was punished. And no, this is not a joke. The security forces and propagandists also didn't like the bathtub in her house, with white and red patterns on the tiles. 

In addition, they found Ukrainian and white-red-white flags at her home, but only after the arrest. The fine is 100 basic units, that is, BYN 3700 ($1123).

"Extremist" prayer

In this episode, it was not a specific person who was punished but the whole church. We are talking about the New Life Protestant Church. The authorities have had complaints against the church for a very long time, but the last straw was the reaction of believers to the repressions of 2020.

The regime considered the prayer, which said that "Jesus Christ today is with the wounded, convicted and innocent victims," to be "extremist." Step by step, things ended up with the official liquidation of the church.