A Rare Case: Pardoned Belarusian Political Prisoner Went to War Against Ukraine

Former political prisoner Aliaksei Korshun, whom Russia extradited to Belarusian security forces in 2022, is now, according to his wife's social media posts, fighting on Russia's side against Ukraine.

Volgograd manicurist Anzhela Korshun posted his photos in Russian military uniform with the caption: "I am immensely proud of my hero. The best man in the world, I love you terribly and await you home quickly. I promise that I will smile and live a full life. To wait, believe, and pray! You are my most reliable support, you are my honor, you are my hero."

Imprisonment Term for a Comment About Coronavirus

Aliaksei Korshun is 30 years old. According to human rights defenders, the man is from Orsha, but on his VKontakte page, Polotsk is listed as his hometown.

Korshun was arrested in March 2021 for a comment about the coronavirus, written during the first wave of the epidemic. The text stated that the authorities were lying in the statistics of illnesses. The post was considered incitement to enmity.

Korshun was sentenced to 2.5 years in a penal colony, but he was fortunate to be pardoned in September 2021. Perhaps it was taken into account that his fiancée had just given birth.

But the pardons then were not like they are now. Korshun was not entirely released home, but only transferred to "chemistry" (a form of open correctional facility with compulsory labor). The political prisoner worked as a loader in a local rural cooperative store.

According to his words, the deputy head of the "chemistry" facility gave him an ultimatum: either quickly accumulate violations and return to the penal colony, or flee the country.

In the autumn of 2021, Korshun escaped. To mislead the police, he threw his phone onto a bus going to the other end of the country, and he himself went to Vitebsk. The next day, without documents, he crossed the Russian border by bus.

Initially, Korshun settled in Smolensk, where he had previously lived with his former Russian girlfriend and child. Then human rights defenders from "Bysol" transported him to Belgorod, from where they planned to move him to Ukraine. But on February 24, 2022, the war began. He also failed to get asylum in Georgia, and Korshun moved to Voronezh, where he got a job at a car service.

Павялічыць

Deportation

On June 21, 2022, Russian traffic police stopped a taxi in which Korshun was riding. He had no documents, and at the police station, it turned out that he was on the wanted list.

The Belarusian tried to get asylum but was refused. In October 2022, Korshun was sent by plane to Minsk.

In Belarus, the court replaced his "chemistry" term with a penal colony sentence — but, according to the law, his unserved term was halved. It is unclear whether any additional punishment was given for his escape from the "chemistry" facility.

Korshun served his sentence in penal colony No. 17 in Shklov. According to "Viasna," on August 20, 2023, he was released, having fully served his term.

Now — in Russian Uniform

Павялічыць

After his release, the Belarusian, judging by social media, once again moved to Russia and opened a car service.

However, later, according to Korshun, he developed lung problems. Doctors forbade him from engaging in car painting work. Then the Belarusian bought an abandoned plot of land and began building a house. At the same time, he maintained a dacha blog.

However, his enthusiasm did not last long. Everything ended with him signing a contract with the Russian army.

For now, he is alive.

• 4
• 4
• 5
• 62
• 1
• 2
• 32
• 0