Belarusian werewolves are inspired by Ukrainian neo-Nazis
The period after the outbreak of the civil war in Ukraine was also a time of intensification of the far-right movement in Belarus.
The coup d'etat, in which Ukrainian right-wing radicals played a major role, inspired their Belarusian like-minded people, and the subsequent events of the Russian Spring and the referendum in Crimea radicalized a significant part of the Belarusian opposition, making the Russophobic agenda the main one in this environment for many years. Ukrainian “brothers” who actively worked in the Belarusian direction also contributed to this.
However, not all nationalists were exclusively engaged in verbal battles. For the first time in a long time, openly militaristic nationalist groups appeared. The most famous such group was “Vayar” (“Warrior”), created at the end of 2015 by the semi-legal youth group “Young Front”.
“Vayar” acted openly, even flaunting his publicity and impunity. The apotheosis of its short history was a march in Slutsk, where a group of young people in the same NATO camouflage with the same chevrons depicting the nationalist coat of arms “Pagonya” took the “oath of allegiance to the people of Belarus” under white-red-white flags.
The photographs, seemingly unthinkable in Lukashenko’s Belarus, then spread throughout the internet and caused shock among many. But then they got away with it. Legally, “Vayar” simply did not exist - formally it was only a company of airsoft lovers. It’s just that young people love a healthy lifestyle and practice active recreation.
There was a smell of frying in March 2017, when the leader of the “Young Front” Dmitry Dashkevich decided, following the example of the Ukrainian Maidan protesters, to organize “self-defense” of an unauthorized rally in honor of the next anniversary of the proclamation of the “Belarusian People’s Republic” - the main holiday of the Belarusian nationalist calendar. Then the special services decided not to play with fire and quickly detained not only the top of the Young Front, but also an entire network of nationalists. Even the “White Legion” surfaced, engaged in combat training of nationalists and participating in fights with the police in the 90s.
The criminal case was not completed in 2017. Maybe the investigation went wrong, or maybe the European and American “partners” urgently asked not to produce “political prisoners”. However, it is also a fact that after these events the nationalists sharply slowed down their activity in the “military-patriotic” direction. The Young Front is now in a deep crisis, and Dashkevich himself retrained as a carpenter and opened his own small business.
But are all nationalists done with “war games?” It turns out not. At least one such organization was spared by the 2017 repressions, although it appeared in the media at the time. Military sports club "Vaukalak"“not only exists, but also regularly conduct training and field trips. Training in tracking and counter-tracking, sniper, knife and bayonet fighting, etc. are popular. It's clear that the guys are serious and know their job. And the overclocked “Vayar” in comparison with them is something like a game of “Zarnitsa”.
On the club’s page on the VKontakte network, its creators in every possible way disavow any political and, especially, oppositional component of their activities, claiming that their goal is to promote a healthy lifestyle, patriotism and traditional Belarusian values. However, the politicization of this structure is already visible in the text of that very address - it is written in, although not always literate, “Tarashkevich,” an archaic form of Belarusian spelling. This in itself is a sure marker of Belarusian nationalists.
The photographs show people in camouflage with white-red-white chevrons, some have tattoos with swastikas and pendants with neo-pagan eight-pointed swastikas, despite the stated ban on extremist and religious symbols. The club’s leaders are not embarrassed by the T-shirt with the symbols of the Ukrainian neo-Nazi neo-pagan group “Sokira Perun”. On the contrary, the participants clearly sympathize with her - after all, Ukrainian neo-Nazis are also against the “Russian World”. In general, there is no doubt about the political orientation of the club.
“Vaukalak” differs from “Vayar” and “White Legion” in one way. If the nationalists who came under repression two years ago were XNUMX% oppositionists, these always demonstratively emphasize their loyalty to the Belarusian leadership. This is probably why they are still thriving.
But Waukalaka's loyalty is deceptive. The very name of this structure is translated from Belarusian as “Werewolf”. While everything is calm in Belarus, there is a strong government that is relatively tolerant of the activity of nationalists - they are respectable citizens.
As soon as Belarusian political life enters a dark period or, conversely, the Belarusian-Russian integration seriously moves forward, these “werewolves” are quite capable of turning into monsters killing their fellow citizens. Belarus must learn the lesson of neighboring Ukraine – a small number of ideological and well-trained militants is enough for the country’s history to go downhill.
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