Belarusian resistance motto declared ‘Nazi’

Belarusian Interior Ministry has added Žyvie Bielaruś [roughly Long live Belarus], the motto used by the country’s resistance movement, to the list of Nazi symbols, as per the official legal website.

“The collaborationist salute is a symbol of the 13th Belarusian police battalion under the Sicherheitsdienst and the 30th Grenadier (infantry) division of the Waffen-SS along with a Heil Hitler one, the salute is raising the right hand with a straightened palm, the exclamation “Long live Belarus” and the response “Long live”, the document says.

It is unclear whether uttering the phrase without making the gesture is considered “Nazi”. The list of “Nazi symbols” has been extended from 10 to 52 entries.

A court in Minsk declared two Telegram sticker packs dubbed Sasha 3% and Luka as “extremist content” in August.