Belarusian Banned from Entering Russia for 100 Years – For Participation in Minsk Marches of 2020

An unusual case of cross-border repression against Belarusian Maksim Stasevich, a participant in the 2020 protests, has come to light. The Supreme Court of the Republic of Karelia banned him from entering Russia until April 17, 2126. This is not a typo — the Belarusian will not be welcome for 100 years. All appeals proved futile.

Maksim Stasevich studied at the Minsk State Linguistic University, specializing as a "linguist-teacher." In 2020, he participated in protests following the falsification of the presidential election results.

On August 16, 2020, Maksim walked in a column along Independence Avenue in Minsk with a white-red-white flag, as stated in the court decision. In Belarus, he was not held accountable, and it generally seemed that the guy had been forgotten.

In June 2021, Stasevich moved to Russian Karelia. From June 2022, he worked at a children's camp in the Loukhi district of the republic: he was a counselor, taught cynology, and marine tourism. He lived there in accommodation provided by the employer. At work, he was characterized exclusively positively.

The village where the Belarusian worked is located on the coast of Kandalaksha Bay of the White Sea. Foreigners can only enter with a special FSB permit. Stasevich had such a permit until December 31, 2023, and then he did not extend it.

In December 2025, the Belarusian was detained in Saint Petersburg. It turned out that he was now on the wanted list, and Belarus wanted him to be returned to his homeland. However, the prosecutor of the Admiralteysky District of St. Petersburg decided that since participation in a demonstration is not a criminal offense under Russian law, there was no need to extradite Stasevich to Belarus. As a result, the guy was simply released.

In April 2026, Stasevich was detained in the Karelian village of Nilmaguba for being there without an FSB permit. He was fined, and the question arose whether to expel the Belarusian from the country. Often, people are expelled from Russia for a couple of years for such offenses, but the court decided not to deport the Belarusian.

And then the Center for Combating Extremism of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Karelia intervened – an analogue of the local GUBOP (Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption). The police issued a decision: to ban Stasevich from entering Russia for 100 years. The reason given was that the Belarusian "hid from the criminal prosecution authority on the territory of Russia."

The Belarusian then had to urgently resolve issues in his homeland — most likely, remotely. In June 2026, Stasevich filed a petition with the Zavodsky District Department of Internal Affairs of Minsk to replace criminal prosecution with administrative responsibility. As a result, Stasevich was fined, and this chapter was finally closed.

After this, the Petrozavodsk City Court of Karelia recognized the ban on Stasevich's entry as illegal. The court noted that in Russia, Stasevich had not engaged in any extremist or other unlawful activities.

But the police did not give up and still demanded Stasevich's expulsion. Maksim's behavior was called a "disregard for the legislation of Russia and Belarus." And his participation in the protests in Minsk was deemed an "unconditional threat to public order, including on the territory of Russia."

As a result, the Supreme Court of Karelia complied with the police's demand. The final decision is that Maksim Stasevich must leave the territory of Russia and not return until 2126.

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