Beness Aijo
Бенес Айо
Personal details
Born (1979-06-08) 8 June 1979
Rēzekne, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union
Citizenship
Political partyThe Other Russia of E. V. Limonov
Other political
affiliations
Alma materUniversity of Latvia (BSc)
Birkbeck, University of London (MMSc)
OccupationPolitical activist
Known forNational Bolshevik activism
NicknameBlack Lenin
Military service
Allegiance Donetsk People's Republic
 Luhansk People's Republic
 Russia
Branch/serviceInterbrigades
Years of service2014
2015–present
Battles/wars

Beness Khristoferovich Aijo (Russian: Бенес Христоферович Айо; born 8 June 1979), also known by his nickname "Black Lenin"[1] (Russian: Чёрный Ленин), is a National Bolshevik activist of Russian and Ugandan descent. He has been active in the National Bolshevik movement since 1998[2][3] and has been repeatedly arrested and imprisoned for his political activities in various countries.

Born in the Latvian city of Rēzekne, Aijo spent most of his early life in Latvia before moving to the United Kingdom to pursue his master's degree at Birkbeck College, University of London. He joined the Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist–Leninist) during his time in London and participated in many of the party's demonstrations.

In 2014, Aijo travelled to Crimea to support the Russian annexation of the peninsula. He later participated in pro-Russian demonstrations in the Donbas before being arrested by Ukrainian authorities and deported to Latvia. Aijo fled Latvia in 2015 despite being under criminal investigation and police surveillance. He eventually made his way to the Luhansk People's Republic, where he joined The Other Russia's paramilitary group, the Interbrigades. He later received a passport from the Donetsk People's Republic, which he used to enter Russia in early 2020. The Russian government granted Aijo political asylum in October 2020 and Russian citizenship in December 2022. The Latvian government revoked Aijo's Latvian citizenship in response to the latter.

Biography

Early life and activism

Beness Aijo was born in Rēzekne, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union. His father is Ugandan and his mother is Russian. He studied biology at the University of Latvia.[4] He is an Orthodox Old Believer.[5]

On 7 May 2005, Aijo was arrested for setting off smoke bombs during the visit of George W. Bush to Latvia.[6] Later that year, Aijo was arrested and sentenced to 9 months in prison for calling for the overthrow of Latvia's political system.[7] In prison, Aijo subsequently went on a hunger strike that lasted for 27 days until his health deteriorated enough to require hospitalisation.[8][9] After spending five and a half months in jail, his security measure was changed from imprisonment to police surveillance at Aijo's request, when he cited his diabetes.[10][11]

Thereafter, Aijo left Latvia and moved to London in the United Kingdom. He studied Medical Microbiology at the University of London, Birkbeck.[6] Later in London, Aijo worked as a construction worker at the Heathrow Terminal 2.[12] He played an active role in political rallies in the UK, where he was a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist–Leninist).[13]

From May–June 2013 he was in Palestine, where he took part in actions against the Israeli government. While in Palestine Aijo received medical training in the field.[14]

On 14 September 2013, in Moscow, Aijo participated in the congress of the political party The Other Russia.[15] On 19 November 2013, Aijo participated in London in a direct action in memory of Aleksandr Dolmatov.[16] On 29 November 2013, he organized in The Hague further direct action in memory of Dolmatov. Beness was arrested[17][18][19] and spent six weeks in a Dutch prison.[20]

Involvement in pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine

Aijo departed for Crimea in 2014. He was arrested in Donetsk on 1 April 2014 for "preparation of an armed coup to overthrow the government and to undermine the territorial integrity of Ukraine"[21][22] and deported to the United Kingdom, where Aijo took part of demonstrations for a couple of weeks.[23]

In May 2014, despite the ban from entering the country for three years, Aijo attempted to cross into Ukraine together with two more activists. He was detained by the Ukrainian Border Guard, and deported to Latvia, where he was detained by the Security Police and the State Police at Riga Airport.[24] Aijo made claims he had been tortured and beaten by the Ukrainian National Guard.[23]

On 16 May 2014, the Riga Central District Court ordered Aijo taken into custody and the Security Police commenced criminal prosecution for incitement to violently overthrow the government of Latvia, to change the political system, and to liquidate Latvian national independence.[24] On the night to 30 May petards and smoke grenades were thrown at the Latvian general consulate in St. Petersburg by members of the far-left The Other Russia party, who set up a Soviet flag on the façade of the building, distributed pamphlets and demanded release of Aijo.[25][26]

Aijo has participated in several demonstrations in Riga since, including the 15 August demonstration against Latvia's foreign policy towards Russia and to call for the dismissal of Minister of Foreign Affairs Edgars Rinkēvičs.[27][28]

In early 2015, with an ongoing criminal case and while being under police surveillance Aijo fled Latvia by hitch-hiking to Tallinn, where he took a ferry to Finland and then traveled to Russia by bus, eventually arriving in Eastern Ukraine. There he joined the armed forces of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic[29] in what he described as "military-political work", i.e., writing articles for a local newspaper,[30] but he also expressed a desire to undergo training and sign up for active service.[31] Riga Central District Court subsequently launched a manhunt for Aijo.[32][33]

Aijo later reported taking part in pro-Russian operations in Debaltseve and near Stanytsia Luhanska among other places and being promoted to sergeant, going from a gunner on an artillery howitzer to a member of a motorized infantry brigade.[34] In the middle of April 2019, Aijo was declared a suspect by the Latvia's State Security Service in a case regarding illegal participation in the pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine.[35]

In early 2020, Aijo entered Russia using a passport from the unrecognised Donetsk People's Republic. He was later detained in Yarensk, Arkhangelsk Oblast, where Aijo was planning to take part in a protest against the construction of a garbage landfill.[36] The Latvian Prosecutor General's Office requested his extradition to Latvia,[37][38] while Aijo asked Vladimir Putin for political asylum in Russia.[39] Aijo was released from prison in February 2020[40] and granted political asylum in Russia in October.[41]

Aijo joined the Communist Party of the Russian Federation some time after 2020, according to the party's website.[42]

On 17 May 2021, a Latvian court in Riga found Aijo guilty of "calling for the violent overthrow of the government, the liquidation of Latvian independence, and the undermining of the territorial integrity of Latvia". He was sentenced in absentia to two years and six months in prison, as well as one year of probation.[41]

In December 2022, Aijo was granted Russian citizenship.[43] On 6 February 2023, the Latvian Citizenship and Migration Affairs Office revoked Aijo's Latvian citizenship.[44][45]

References

  1. ↑ Matveeva, Anna (2017). Through Times of Trouble: Conflict in Southeastern Ukraine Explained from Within. Lexington Books. p. 231. ISBN 978-1498-5432-3-1. Black Lenin (Aijo Beness), a Latvian citizen, a son of a Russian mother and a Ugandan father, and a member of Leftist Drugaya Rossia party in Russia and of the Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist–Leninist) ...
  2. ↑ Айо Бенес — магистр биологии и профессор НБП
  3. ↑ Геополитика с Айо Бенесом. Часть 1
  4. ↑ Айо Бенес — магистр биологии и профессор НБП Archived 5 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine. D-pils.lv (23 March 2005). Retrieved on 1 May 2014.
  5. ↑ Collier, Mike (28 August 2014). "Latvia: Neo-Bolshevik Vexes Government". Eurasianet. Retrieved 28 August 2014. I pray. I go to church, maybe not as often as I should but I am a Christian, an Orthodox Old Believer.
  6. 1 2 Collier, Mike (28 August 2014). "Latvia: Neo-Bolshevik Vexes Government". Eurasianet. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  7. ↑ Noraida Benesa Aijo lietā iesniegto kasāciju. Delfi.lv (5 December 2005). Retrieved on 1 May 2014.
  8. ↑ "Beness Aijo goes on a hunger strike" (in Latvian). Delfi. 5 December 2005. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  9. ↑ "Beness Aijo has ended the hunger strike" (in Latvian). Delfi. 5 January 2006. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  10. ↑ "Beness Aijo released from imprisonment" (in Latvian). Delfi. 20 July 2006. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  11. ↑ "Benes Ayo: After my weight went down to 45 kg, they had to let me out" (in Russian). TVNet. 21 July 2006. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  12. ↑ Wright, Simon; Cortbus, Colin; Drake, Matthew (19 July 2014). "Malaysia Airlines Crash: 'Dangerous' British student with Putin links is leading Russian rebel in Ukraine". Mirror. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  13. ↑ Collier, Mike (31 July 2014). "An Unlikely Revolutionary: Beness Aijo". Retrieved 21 January 2022. I am a member of the Marxist Leninist Communist party of Great Britain and our aim is socialism in Britain and elsewhere.
  14. ↑ An interview with Aijo Beness
  15. ↑ Айо Бенес стал делегатом съезда партии Лимонова от Латвии, Британии и Палестины. Rus.delfi.lv (18 September 2013). Retrieved on 1 May 2014.
  16. ↑ Активисты «Другой России» забросали дымовыми шашками посольство Голландии в Лондоне. Nvdaily.ru (20 November 2013). Retrieved on 1 May 2014.
  17. ↑ Айо Бенес или о том как "летучего голландца" судили в Гааге. Echo.msk.ru (17 October 2011). Retrieved on 1 May 2014.
  18. ↑ Требовавший расследовать смерть Александра Долматова нацбол Бенес Айо арестован в Нидерландах Archived 2 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Hroniki.info. 1 December 2013.
  19. ↑ Голландия передумала судить другоросса Бенеса Айо за терроризм. Newsland.com (27 April 2014). Retrieved on 1 May 2014.
  20. ↑ Бенес Айо освободился из голландской тюрьмы Archived 2 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Drugoros.ru. 10 January 2014.
  21. ↑ In Donetsk arrested Ayo Benes Archived 8 June 2014 at the Wayback Machine. News2Night. Retrieved on 1 May 2014.
  22. ↑ Extremists from the Crimea get over to Donetsk: on meeting for Yanukovych Aksenov's black "fighter". News.pn (22 March 2014). Retrieved on 1 May 2014.
  23. 1 2 Collier, Mike (31 July 2014). "An Unlikely Revolutionary: Beness Aijo". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  24. 1 2 "Bolshevik Aijo ordered locked up". The Baltic Times. 19 May 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  25. ↑ "'Other Russia' movement hooligans attack Latvian consulate". The Baltic Times. 30 May 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  26. ↑ "National Bolshevik Aijo Beness' supporters attack Latvian general consulate in Russia". Baltic News Network. 30 May 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  27. ↑ "Around 50 demonstrators outside Foreign Ministry in Riga demand Rinkevics' resignation". The Baltic Course. 15 August 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  28. ↑ "Radical Russians rally against foreign policy". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. 15 August 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  29. ↑ "Bolshevik renegade runs to Lugansk, defies arrest". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. 12 January 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  30. ↑ "Beness Aijo flees Latvia by means of hitch-hiking". Baltic News Network. LETA. 12 January 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  31. ↑ "Beness Aijo boasts his promotion in the ranks of separatists in Donbass". Baltic News Network. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  32. ↑ "Latvian authorities launch manhunt for National Bolshevik Beness Aijo". Baltic News Network. 4 February 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  33. ↑ "Aijo on the lam for anti-Latvia activism". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. 4 February 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  34. ↑ "Beness Aijo 'on the front line' in Ukraine". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. 2 March 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  35. ↑ "National Bolshevik Beness Aijo accused of taking part in armed conflict in Ukraine". Baltic News Network. 8 May 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  36. ↑ Kyt, Andry (11 February 2020). "Black Lenin from DNI detained in Russia". Hand of Moscow. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  37. ↑ "Latvia to request Russia to hand over detained National-Bolshevik Beness Aijo". Baltic News Network. 12 February 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  38. ↑ "Latvia to seek extradition of oddball radical Beness Aijo". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. 14 February 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  39. ↑ "National Bolshevik Beness Aijo asks Putin to grant him political asylum". The Baltic Times. 14 February 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  40. ↑ "Russian police free 'Black Lenin' – media". Ukrainian Independent Information Agency. 13 February 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  41. 1 2 Pavlyuk, Oleg (17 May 2021). "«Черного Ленина», который воевал на стороне «ДНР» и «ЛНР», в Латвии заочно приговорили к двум с половиной годам тюрьмы". Hromadske (in Russian). Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  42. ↑ "Трое погибших коммунистов, членов КПРФ на СВО в Украине, Или Ходаковский он-лайн". Communist Party of the Russian Federation (in Russian). 14 September 2022. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  43. ↑ "Beness Aijo has become a citizen of Russia. PMLP will assess the revocation of his Latvian citizenship". LA.LV (in Latvian). Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  44. ↑ "'National Bolshevik' Beness Aijo stripped of Latvian citizenship". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. 6 February 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  45. ↑ "National Bolshevik Aijo to lose Latvian citizenship". The Baltic Times. 6 February 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
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